This question was recently raised by Scott McLeod at the blog Dangerously Irrelevant (side bar, I had to look up the meaning of the blog title and was interested at the response: Our intelligence tends to produce technological and social change at a rate faster than our institutions and emotions can cope with. . . . We therefore find ourselves continually trying to accommodate new realities within inappropriate existing institutions, and trying to think about those new realities in traditional but sometimes dangerously irrelevant terms. (War: The Lethal Custom, p. 441).
I can't say that I was surprised by either the question or many of the responses.
Why blame the teachers? That is always the easiest path and interestingly one typically taken by the parents and the politicians; the two groups that rarely get examined yet have an equal stake in our student success. I haven't met a teacher yet who goes into the job for the easy paycheck and yet, we are constantly arguing over tenure for those horrid old ninnies we can't get out of the schools and pay for performance testing to weed out the slackers. This kind of questioning feels like education's answer to reality television. It has little to do with real student outcomes but is so distracting that we seem to forget to focus on the real issues.
They dont have enough at their disposal, they aren't paid well, they are at times ill-supported, they have tough goals yet we seem to hold only them up to the light. Why not consider the students and who they are when they come to the teachers.
An interesting video from Kansas State begins that conversation, it is called A Vision of Students Today and you may have seen it already. If not, it is worth a few minutes. This video, along with another one, called Iowa, Did You Know? both examine what kinds students and life situations these students are facing these days.
How can we really know if we are doing what is best for our students if we do not know who they are and attempt to meet them within their comfort zone? How are we preparing them to be competitive and to move society forward if we are always meeting our students in their comfort zone?
Our students crave challenges and yes, some teachers do not create those environements for them. I would like to think that is more due to a stringency of expectations from policy makers and administrators than it is from lazy teachers. I also think our teachers' hands can be very tied to create robust learning environments when they are presented with ill-fed, ill-mannered, ill-prepared students. Whose fault is it that they come to schools this way and why should the onus lie with the teacher to be their savior?
The question you rose “Why blame the teachers?” is very pertinent. Too much responsibility has been put on teachers and not enough is expected from parents and students. Teachers are expected to spoon feed students while parents complain and students balk their responsibilities. By having teachers bend over backwards to try to reach and motivate students we are not preparing students for the real world. When student actually have to work they will find that no boss is going to allow them to redo assignments until it’s acceptable. They will not put up with excuses like “I was up late last night so I really don’t feel like doing anything today.” And most work places do not allow cell phone usage or the listening of IPods during working hours.
ReplyDeleteRalph,
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with your post. Everyone wants to blame the teachers of doing an inadequate job. More and More parents are using school as babysitting service and not taking the responsibility at home to help there child succeed either. Teachers get blamed for bad test results. Well, how about lets blame the "politics" and the parents. Parents send the students to school without breakfest, sick, or the students are in a bad mood; how do you think the student will do? Then everytime a county does well on the test, the state thinks that the test was "too easy" so they make it harder. Are we setting our students up for failure? hmmmm maybe? As for technology; teachers put their blood, sweat, and tears into this job. Why would people assume they do not want to adapt to technology. I think technology has made everyone's life a little easier. But it is "shameful" to even put the blame on the higher heirachy that they could provide the funds. Or maybe we should realize the state keeps cutting the funding for schools, so how can teachers adapt?
I could probably rant and rave about this subject forever, but everybody needs to take responsibility for the failure of our kids.
Respectfully,
Bryanna
Hi Bryanna,
DeleteI could rant and rave about this topic for hours too so hopefully my blog won't turn into that this semester. :) I am excited to have a forum to disucss these issues with other educators so thanks for your thoughtful feedback!
Tasha
I can appreciate where you are coming from. As teachers we want parent support and involvement, but in reality it is sometimes a lost cause. Teachers do get a lot of blame, but I don’t think that was the purpose of this video. I took it as a wake up call to make sure I am taking full advantage of my resources. If your school is outdated “technology speaking”, form a committee about how to make changes or get your PTA and school board members involved. Our PTA puts together an annual fundraiser for technology alone. I know each school’s PTA is different, but if there is a will there is a way.
ReplyDeleteIn response to your question, “How are we preparing them to be competitive and to move society forward if we are always meeting our students in their comfort zone? We can’t allow our students to only perform in their comfort zone. There are many ways to make technology challenging. Have them create an electronic story book, social story or video. Your rubric can make everything more challenging.
Katy
Thanks for your feedback Katy.
DeleteI was referncing the blog "Dangerously Irrelevant" in speaking about blaming the teachers, not the Iowa video. I also agree the video was fascinating and just shows how behind the times we are. Possibly our teachers would have more time to engage and challenge our students if the only jobbed they were tasked with is "teacher" and not also mom, therapist, nutritionist, etc. I agree with you that it might be a futile cause. Then again, anything worth fighting for first requires discontent.
Again, thanks for your thoughts!
First of all, I love the picture in your blog...the kid with the "fake arm" texting under the table. My coworkers got a kick out of that!
ReplyDeleteI know why teachers get the blame.... It is because most of the administration and just about all of the DOE (local, state, federal) are so darn removed from a classroom! It is always to dictate what someone is to do, especially if you don't have to do it yourself.
Stuff rolls down hill. And teachers are at the bottom of said hill. When scores decline in a district, no one asks if there was enough money to fund more teachers so that teacher:student ratio could be lowered. No one asks if administrators at the schools have offered to teach and model lessons for struggling teachers. I mean, why would anyone inquire about such a thing?
I think if we can get a hold of exactly HOW to use technology effectively the world will start to see what an impact GOOD teachers can have on student performance.
Good post!
Mike
mmike5150
Thanks Mike! I appreciate your feedback and definitley agree with you. Most teachers are so darn overloaded that they don't have time to complain, lobby or work on the politics of truly changing the system. Here's hoping technology helps and isn't just another distraction.
DeleteThanks again :)