As I am enjoying the sun shining through the living room window, I decided to flip through the upper reaches of the cable channels. In the 900's you'll find radio stations. I decided to see what was on KUOW, the local NPR affiliate out of the University of Washington. I really enjoy Weekday, when I get a chance to listen, and find Steve Scher to be a great host (ability to ask direct questions, let people speak, and keep the conversation moving).
This morning the program is called "Race to the Top." One thing that I found interesting, which piggybacks off of yesterday's posting, was the quote "there isn't a magic bullet. This isn't rocket science." The speaker mentioned the need for additional time, which I agree with somewhat. I certainly agree with the notion that we need to go into the summer, if for no other reason than the fact we aren't predominately agrarian anymore! What I wonder about is why we can't succeed within the time structure (daily) that we have currently? If you structure your time effectively, what prevents you from making the gains of those who are going 7-5? The other issue is that 7-5 inspires burnout in teachers. My September through December were largely 7-5 days, and I felt awful. Now it wasn't 7-5 with kids, but rather 7-5 with planning on the front and back end. Do I do that now? To a degree, but I leave by 4 or 4:30, and do additional time at home. Alas I digress.
I can see what you are saying now that I am in the the thick of it as an intern. And the time of start and stop does not matter. I do 8am - 6:30pm and when I get home I just want to go to bed. My poor husband. The field placement director told me that this was excessive since I am in a district with curriculum for everything. But if you have never taught it before and have never looked through the assessments or the homework there is A LOT of reading to do. I have to go through each scrap of paper looking for the objectives and how to teach the material so that each student eventually gets it. I am exhausted and I do not get paid to do this yet! Why do we do it? We do it for the kids. Even the ones that just frustrate you, you still care about them and their futures. As for summer, I say BRING IT ON!!!!
ReplyDeleteThe key is being very intentional about what you do. Assuming you look at the assessment first, you have a good idea of where to go with your teaching- and where potential pitfalls are. The in-between work (journal pages, exit slips, etc) don't always need to be scored, sometimes it is a "check, got it" or a "minus, needs work" type of thing.
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