Hold On Tight Here I Go!
Marisabel's Blog
1. Meaningful learning goals
I am sure as educators we all want the best for all of our students in our classroom. Meaningful learning goals are always what we are trying to achieve for each of them. We want all our students to be successful but it is very difficult when expectations are so high for both the student and the teacher. As teachers we are expected to not leave any child behind but at the same time we are being asked to move on as we teach because we are not teaching to mastery or trying to get to every standard we are expected to teach. "It will spiral around", are the words that are supposed to reassure me, while my low students continue to be left behind. And even though I want to stop and check for understanding and make small groups to work with those students I constantly have another teaching requirement lingering over my head that I have to make sure I am covering. I don't have enough time in the school day to teach what they want me to teach and make sure that all my students are getting the help or support that they may desperately need. In my classroom 50% of my student are English learners. As Darling-Hammond notes: Clearly, there is a need not only for leaner, more disciplined standards and more thoughtful curriculum guidance, but also for more useful assessments. 2. Intelligent, reciprocal accountability systems These policies are a must for the teacher as well as for the school in general. I agree that an accountability system is necessary and should be based on multiple measures of student learning not just from the administration of tests. All students can't be expected to pass the tests that are required because all students are not the same. They don't all learn the same and when they are learning two languages at the same time it takes them more time to catch up to the single language learning counterpart. It feels like we are comparing apples to oranges. 3. Equitable and adequate resources The idea that all schools would receive equitable funding and resources is to farfetched to even think about. As a student I remember how different schools were. I constantly switched form public to private schools and could see huge discrepancies in what was available to us. It was also evident on which teachers loved their jobs regardless of how much money they were making. I am grateful for having the induction program that provides me a mentor teacher who guides me through the ups and downs of the teaching profession. My students benefit from this program just as much as me if not more. It is important to be able to reflect on your teaching and be able to adjust your teaching as needed. If all schools had equitable funding to help keep highly skilled teachers we could provide all students the quality education they are all entitled to receive. 4. Strong professional standards and supports All of us teachers need support and continuing professional development. We have seen changes in just the past 5 years on sources of information. A text book is no longer our primary source of information and encyclopedias are outdated and rarely used. us teachers must be able to keep up with new technology and be prepared to teach the type of student that will be in our classroom of the 21st century. 5. Schools organized for student and teacher learning Being able to use assessments that guide and inform teaching and learning through an ongoing inquiry process at the classroom and school levels, supported by regular time for teachers to plan and learn together would benefit both the teachers and the students. All my students would benefit from personalized support integrating new technologies. Just as we do for our students we should give our schools SMART goals. Specific, measurable, attainable, relevant and timely goals that benefit both our students and teachers.
3 Comments
10/30/2017 08:53:01 pm
Marisabel, I agree that the accountability part is a must for our teachers and for our schools using multiple measures, siempre y cuando, when and only the goals and expectations are clear and...teachers receive the adequate training and support. We can't move forward and expect our kids to advance forward if our pedagogy is outdated?
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Lisa Gottfried
10/30/2017 09:15:58 pm
I like the idea of personalized support for all. Of course, the question next is always, what does that look like and how do we make that happen in a public school setting. What strategies can help free up the teacher for one-on-one support time?
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Amanda Olson
10/31/2017 07:44:23 pm
I often feel as you do when I must move on to teaching the next standard when I know that many of my students did not only not master a previous standard, but did not seem to become acquainted with it as well. I struggle with the overwhelming and daunting feeling of guilt when I must simply move on in hopes that the curriculum will “spiral” knowing that for some of my kiddos the “spiral” will not work due to the lack of foundation they have in the basics. It is such a difficult dance between slowing down to make sure all of our kiddos get what they need and being speedy enough to complete what we are required to. I do my best to get creative with grouping, interventions and supports, but although I have these systems in place and ready to go when I go to implement them there is undoubtedly a lack of time when I am uninterrupted, especially when asking other kindergarteners to work on their own. I also wonder what Lisa had mentioned about how this type of necessary support might like in our classrooms? I am interested in continuing to learn about and develop strategies to help my kiddos get the interventions and supports they need. Leaner and more in-depth standards would most definitely assist in accomplishing this!
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Marisabel OlguinNVLA 4th Grade Dual Immersion Teacher at Napa Valley Language Academy Archives
June 2018
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