Cathy Larson
  • Home
  • Resume
  • Writing Portfolio
  • Educational Blog

Fair does not mean equal

2/17/2016

0 Comments

 
Every day, over and over again, we all hear the same thing from our kids: “That’s not fair!”

It can stem from anything, including what we watch on TV, who feeds the dogs, who gets new tennis shoes, and, the ever-favorite, who gets what punishment for some wrongdoing.

As parents, we know fair doesn’t mean equal. We know parenting means that in order to be fair to each child, sometimes one child needs more or less things, attention, punishment, or money than the other.

All kids are unique. All kids have different needs. Being fair as a parent means that we are making informed decisions about what’s best for our kids.

So why do we accept something other than this from classroom teachers?

The system we use to educate is antiquated: we group kids arbitrarily by age, stick as many of them as we can in one room, keep them in this system for thirteen years, give them a summer break originally designed a hundred years ago so kids could help with the harvest, and then teach them all in the same way, at the same time, and expect them all to progress in a lock-step manner with the same success. There is nothing more “equal” than this.

Since the birth of American education, the only real progress we’ve made is moving kids from a one-room schoolhouse into a multi-room schoolhouse. With all we’ve learned about psychology, learning theory, and brain development, it’s crazy we still run our schools like we’re in the 19th century.

Yes, we have begun to tinker with technology and project-based learning, and career technical education,  but the core of what happens in the classroom - the sameness of teaching and learning - is still antiquated.

Because of this, my mission in the classroom has always been to treat each child fairly.

Fairly, not equally.

Even though I still have to deliver instruction to a large heterogenous group, I work every day to find ways to deliver it to differentiate for different types of learners. I deliver information so the auditory, visual, and kinesthetic learners can all excel. I deliver it so those with special needs can succeed. I offer various options for final projects and even provide more time for some kids, on a case-by case basis, if they need it.

I also try to find ways to provide additional support for those who aren’t quite ready to learn new concepts. I give graphic organizers, one-on-one help, additional instruction. Sometimes I even re-teach concepts to small groups of kids, because they need to hear the information a second or third time.

Not every child is going to be able to write a complete essay in two days - some need more time. Others won’t be ready for a math exam on Tuesday and need a few extra days, and help, to master the material. And a science lab may have been so technical for some that they could really benefit from conducting the lab again before writing the report.

All kids have strengths; all kids have areas in which they struggle.

I’m not suggesting we remove the struggle; I’m suggesting we help our kids through it.

Teaching kids how to work through struggle successfully, rather than just letting them fail, will ultimately teach more about life than the mastery of any content from our arbitrary, antiquated system. Today, we need to look at the whole child and commit to treating each one fairly - not equally.

As parents we know this isn’t easy, and we don’t always get it right. The same goes for the classroom teacher. I’m simply suggesting teachers start asking questions of our kids that ensure everyone is treated fairly. Instead of “How can I punish?” I would rather our teachers and schools start asking “How can I help?”

As parents, isn’t that all we really want?

I think that’s fair.
0 Comments

The Role of a Teacher

11/2/2015

0 Comments

 
Education is a field inundated by acronyms.

I was sitting in a meeting just this morning and was reminded of the alphabet stew that feeds my profession. In just sixty minutes, I heard MTSS, RTI, SLT, AP, AVID, CTE, ELD, STEM, VAPA, GATE, NGSS, PTA and WASC, and I hadn’t even yet opened my emails for the day.

As a teacher, it’s easy to get lost in the acronyms; it’s easy to get lost in the data, initiatives, programs, and next-best research discoveries that fuel this maelstrom of education-ese. Education, unfortunately, seems to be a business of self-perpetuating confusion.

As a teacher, it’s also easy to lose focus on what matters most, to get lost in the confusion, and to forget the why we chose this profession in the first place -- the children.

My meeting this morning was focused on student support systems. During this sixty-minute meeting, we discussed concepts such as “top-tier intervention” and “sink or swim.” And as we bantered about the how’s and why’s and what for’s, I found myself thinking about my job as a teacher. I found myself thinking about why so many students are in peril. About why some kids succeed and others fail. About what constitutes teaching. I came away with a few thoughts.

My job isn’t to just teach content. Although content is an important component of what we do as educators, the real work happens outside of the content. But oftentimes it is a student’s mastery of content that primarily drives a teacher, rather than the “outside of the content” work I argue is more important.

I wrote down a few thoughts about what constitutes this “outside of the content” work and narrowed it down to a few key phrases; my job as a teacher is to help kids find success, be their best, feel safe, find importance, and, ultimately, be inspired to tackle the world. I’m not talking about encouraging entitlement or inflating self esteem -- I’m talking about having compassion. I want every student to know he matters, and that I won’t let him fall between the cracks. That’s my real work.

When talking to my family or to friends at the end of a work day, I am often flip or dismissive about my job. I respond to their “How was your day?” question with something like “Great! Just inspiring young minds.” I respond with this phrase almost every time I am faced with this greeting, and I never fail to get a laugh. But today, my after-meeting thoughts left me reflecting on my role as a teacher. As much as I enjoy the laugh I get with my response, I do know that my work matters.

My work matters because every child matters. So when we talked this morning about supporting students, I wanted to remind us all that EVERY child matters: the high achievers, the average students, those with learning disabilities, those who need intensive intervention, and those who just need a smile or a pat on the back. And they matter in a way more than simply a grade can expose. And I matter more than just my content.

I never want to underestimate the power and influence I have on my students. A hurtful word can be just as impactful, if not more so, than a kind and encouraging word. When I have students who excel, do I reach out to them to continue to push? When I have students who struggle, do I consider my role in their struggles and ask myself what I can do to help them find success? Do I ensure I’ve done everything I can to impact each of my students in a positive way every day? Would I want my own child treated the way I just treated a student? No student deserves to be forgotten, and every student deserves my attention regardless their achievement level. And sometimes more because of it.

I find it hard to hear excuses from teachers -- excuses about too many students, too little time, too much testing, or too little money. At the end of the day, none of the excuses can excuse a teacher from the responsibility of making sure that every child is treated fairly and with compassion. And by “fair,” I don’t mean equal; I mean meeting the needs of all students -- all the time.

All we can hope is that all teachers do this same reflection. That all teachers who interact with our children on a daily basis reflect about their role in our children’s lives.

Parents, it’s time we start demanding this compassion from our children’s teachers. Knock on the teachers’ classroom doors, expect them to know your child, and don’t accept any excuse for their not meeting your child’s needs.
​

Our children are more than an acronym -- they are the business of education.
0 Comments

Failing Students

9/15/2014

0 Comments

 
Why are districts facing an epidemic of students who aren’t passing their classes? Why are we struggling to graduate students from high school?

I believe the challenges for struggling students are multi-faceted, hard to pinpoint, and can’t be solved with a one-size-fits-all solution. However, I do believe teachers are oftentimes at fault for perpetuating the problem.

My job as a teacher is to educate. What does that mean, though? I’ve had dozens of conversations over the years – at multiple schools and districts – about what it is we actually teach. Are we, as teachers, responsible for teaching responsibility, time management, consequences for selected behaviors, morality, citizenship, real world realities, fortitude? Or is a teacher’s job to teach a curriculum and ensure children can show proficiency in that subject? Or are teachers responsible for both? Teachers have philosophies that run deep in the core of who they are. I’m not sure an answer exists to meet the needs of every child or every teacher. Nor do I believe we need to create one. What I do know is how I run my own classroom.

Let me go back to my earlier bold statement: teachers are oftentimes at fault for perpetuating the problem.

I’m not suggesting a teacher maliciously targets, fails or sabotages students. I will argue, however, teachers may lose sight of what I feel is our ultimate responsibility as teachers – to help children find success through differentiated instruction, intervention, individual plans for special circumstances, compassion, equity and fairness for all students based on their needs, and a focus on the course content.

Let’s take a look at a sample student to see how this plays out. Let’s call him Bob – because I’ve never had one in class. Bob’s story:

  • unstable family life
  • living in a middle-class neighborhood
  • mixed race (Caucasian/Hispanic), but speaks English as a first language in the home
  • performs at Proficiency in standardized tests
  • struggled to pass English in seventh and eighth grade, ultimately pulling a D all four semesters 

Bob is capable, but struggling. As his teacher, unless he opens up to tell me why he struggles, all I can do is manage what happens in the classroom. Approaching the end of the first semester of ninth grade, it appears he won’t pass. This could be devastating for him. Students need to pass four full years of English to graduate high school. Projected out a couple years, he could potentially fail multiple semesters of English before his senior year, leaving him without enough time or summers to make up the credits and graduate high school; hence, he doesn't graduate. That is unless we work with him early to help him find success.

As a school team, we intervene. I re-evaluate his performance. I not suggesting I change his grades; I re-evaluate his performance.

  • Does he turn in his homework? No
  • Does he complete in-class work? Yes
  • Does he perform at grade-level on quizzes and tests? Yes
  • Have I been able to assessment him through oral, formative activities? Yes

Upon closer look, what I discover is that his homework grade is creating the biggest problem. Then I ask myself, Is he proficient in English and able to demonstrate that proficiency to justify a passing grade?

 Yes.

But it’s hard to imagine passing a student who earns an F in any class. So how do I “re-evaluate”? I look back at his homework grade. Turns out he’s only turned in only 20% of his homework. Not great, but each item turned in was an A. Regardless his performance, with the number of missing homework assignments included in his semester grade, he is earning an F.

So what’s a teacher to do? I had to go back to my philosophy. I want a grade to reflect a student’s proficiency or mastery of the content knowledge. Ultimately, isn’t this what a college wants to know?

I make accommodations for Bob. In the end, he is responsible for passing the semester final with a 70% to show he understands the material. He does, and he passes the first semester of ninth grade English with only a 49% in the gradebook.

Bob is now on track for graduation; he isn’t spending the next year trying to dig himself out of a hole he created for himself when he was only 14. That’s the part I continue to remind myself of … he’s just a kid. I WILL NOT let a 14-year-old child make decisions that will determine his future as an adult. I am the adult. I will cajole, push, encourage, accommodate, nurture and do whatever I can to champion a child.

This year he is in tenth grade and thriving. He is turning in more work, has figured out how to manage his home life, has become more organized, feels capable and is finding success. He’s also on the road to graduation and college. Did I have to change a grade? No. Did I have to lower my standards? No. In the end did I help teach responsibility, time management, consequences, morality, citizenship, real world realities, fortitude? I will argue “Yes.”

But you know the most important thing I taught him?

 Self worth.

In the end, ask yourself … are students really failing or are we failing our students? 

0 Comments

    Archives

    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014

    Categories

    All
    21st Century Classroom
    21st Century Curriculum
    College And Career
    Common Core
    Communication
    Culture
    Curriculum
    Equity
    Funding
    Fundraising
    Homework
    Instructional Minutes
    Inter District Transfers
    Inter-District Transfers
    Intervention
    Literacy
    Rigor
    Safety
    School Board
    School Calendar
    Stress
    Student Engagement
    Summer
    Summer Loss
    Teachers
    Technology In The Classroom
    Traffic
    Transparency
    Writing

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.