Notes from the Field
Submitted by Alex-a Philadelphia Public School Teacher, on February 3, 2011
It was about 7:30 in the morning. I was hanging up samples of student work on the bulletin boards that lined the walls of my classroom. I was talking to one of my students while I worked. He had come to school early and wanted to hang out in my room. He didn’t want to wait in the cafeteria or auditorium by himself.
When I started to hang up the graphic organizers my students had made during a recently completed literature unit, he said. “Hey! Why are you putting those on the wall? Don’t we need them?”
“Nope” I responded. “We are finished with this unit and we are starting another one.”
“Ah man! Come on!” the student exclaimed.
This response caught me totally off guard.
“Whoa. What is the problem?” I asked.
“We keep changing books! Now we have to scrap all the stuff we did before and start a whole new one. How many times are we going to have change everything?”
It took me a second to realize that my student was confusing the perfectly normal change of one literature unit to another with one of the many curriculum and schedule changes we have experienced so far this school year.
“Oh, no.” I replied. “We aren’t changing everything. We are just starting a new unit. We aren’t switching books, subjects, or schedules again.”
“Well, good” my student said. “I don’t think I can take many more of these changes. It feels like we are being treated like orphans.”
“What do you mean by orphans?” I asked.
“Just that we keep changing everything without being asked. We don’t even do assemblies anymore.”
“Yeah, I know we don’t.” I responded. “Do you think that has had an effect on anything?”
My student offered up a very interesting observation.
“Since there have been less assemblies, there have been more fights, suspensions, and pink slips. Kids can’t show their friends what they can do like songs, poems, or skits anymore.”
I think my student is on to something.
In the midst of all the school reforms that are being pushed into our schools, the other important elements that students need are being forgotten. There is no doubt that it is crucial for students to master academics. But, if teaching to the test and reading scripts is our only focus as educators, aren’t we doing our students a disservice?
We can’t forget that school culture and community are equally as important as academics. A school that is focused solely on increasing test scores will not fully empower its students. Children need more. They need what we all need, to feel as though they belong to a community.
Schools must offer students more than just drill and kill and test prep. Schools should be a place where students can safely be social. Schools should provide students with consistent and supportive structures. In a school, students should be able to show what they can do rather than always being told what to do.
School reformers shouldn’t ignore the importance of creating a school culture that will help to create and foster a positive community. If we ignore these critical needs of our students, how can we expect any reform to work?
IteachinPhilly
February 3, 2011 at 4:10 pm
As a high school teacher in the district, I can tell you that the district has abandoned ALL literature studies for juniors. Since mid-December our English classes have done nothing but drill for the PSSA test.
My students are missing so much that is beautiful in American literature that it breaks my heart. By teaching only for the test we impoverish our children culturally and cheat them out of a valuable piece of their country’s creative legacy.
Meg
February 4, 2011 at 8:50 pm
Youa re so right. We have also lost the time to listen to our kids. I do not know my kids on day 92 of this year the way I have known so many in the past. It is hard to connect on academic issues without the trust that came from small group instruction on their own instructional levels. Those little groups were more supportive academically, but they mean so much more. During those transitions, we shared.
I think I miss that the most this year. I know it is hurting the social feelings of the room and the school.
Out of the mouths, you know?
cat pretzel
February 16, 2011 at 5:14 pm
I feel this. My principal made me move from 2nd to 3rd grade this year because she wanted me in a “test-taking” grade. I have many of my students from last year, and it is heart-breaking when they ask for things we used to do last year.
I am so tired. My life consists of scrambling, most humiliatingly, to gather together meaningless symbols, each of which will earn me a “check” during a walkthrough. I am realizing that an army of me would never be able to get 100% of the checks. It is a fail-proof system on the district’s part. They now ALWAYS have an unchecked box that they can point to as proof of a teacher’s failing.