Confession
The secret truth is that I made it all up. After 20 years in the classroom, National Board certification and
recertification, teacher leadership teams and distinguished evaluations, I feel I have just enough job security
to admit the painful, embarrassing secret I believe most teachers keep. We make it all up.
recertification, teacher leadership teams and distinguished evaluations, I feel I have just enough job security
to admit the painful, embarrassing secret I believe most teachers keep. We make it all up.
In my first job, teaching English at Lake Roosevelt High School at age 23, the truth came as quite a shock. There
was no real “curriculum” or even a scope and sequence that laid out the standards or assessments. There was none
of that. There was a cupboard of marginally useful books, six 50 minutes periods a day, and three different preps.
My job was to make it work. To blend, weave, create, and fake my way through it, take a deep breath, and then
do it again the next day.
was no real “curriculum” or even a scope and sequence that laid out the standards or assessments. There was none
of that. There was a cupboard of marginally useful books, six 50 minutes periods a day, and three different preps.
My job was to make it work. To blend, weave, create, and fake my way through it, take a deep breath, and then
do it again the next day.
It was incredibly difficult, but I made it. I gradually found my voice and philosophy. I created systems and
assignments and units. I developed projects and lessons that seemed worthy of refining and repeating. I turned
myself into an English teacher, or at least what I imagined an English teacher to be, and 20 years later here I am,
still dancing the dance and teaching high school English.
assignments and units. I developed projects and lessons that seemed worthy of refining and repeating. I turned
myself into an English teacher, or at least what I imagined an English teacher to be, and 20 years later here I am,
still dancing the dance and teaching high school English.
But the bitter truth is I still don’t really know why we do all the things we do. Why do we read Of Mice and Men
as a class every sophomore year? Why do we write literary analysis essay on theme? Why do we give vocab lists
and quizzes? I could give you an answer to all these questions, a justification polished with years of experience
and the fluid logic of a practiced writer, but it would be a fraud.
as a class every sophomore year? Why do we write literary analysis essay on theme? Why do we give vocab lists
and quizzes? I could give you an answer to all these questions, a justification polished with years of experience
and the fluid logic of a practiced writer, but it would be a fraud.
We do these things because we’ve always done these things. These are the practices and tools we’ve built our
profession around. I could argue that the ability to read, comprehend, and dig into text are vital skills, and they
are. But how we teach them, or more importantly, how people actually learn them is a much more open question.
We do the things we do out of practicality and routine, not because they are the best way to teach.
profession around. I could argue that the ability to read, comprehend, and dig into text are vital skills, and they
are. But how we teach them, or more importantly, how people actually learn them is a much more open question.
We do the things we do out of practicality and routine, not because they are the best way to teach.
The evidence that we are not hitting the mark is substantial. In Teaching and Learning: Lost in a Buzzword
Wasteland, the authors then go on to advocate for a “comprehensive theory of how people learn” implying that
we clearly aren’t teaching intentionally or effectively in our current model. In Learning that Connects, the author
talks about the skills her daughter, and her generation, are picking up online. The article advocates for teaching
that connects to these students natural passions and online explorations. This class itself seems to be centered on
this idea.
Wasteland, the authors then go on to advocate for a “comprehensive theory of how people learn” implying that
we clearly aren’t teaching intentionally or effectively in our current model. In Learning that Connects, the author
talks about the skills her daughter, and her generation, are picking up online. The article advocates for teaching
that connects to these students natural passions and online explorations. This class itself seems to be centered on
this idea.
So that leaves us with the question of how to change? Do we have the courage to throw out years of practice?
How would we even do that? What standards are worth preserving? How do you people actually learn best? What
would teaching that connected to students’ online world and natural passions look like? The task becomes
overwhelming very quickly, and I’m honestly a bit dizzy from the effort. What am I doing on Monday?
Questions are the most powerful tools we have as educators, and you have so many good ones here. When I began my career, I started with no curriculum and no one in our tiny four-person department who had ever taught ELA before. While it was miserable at the time - late nights nearly every night, long weekends, hours and hours of research - it forced me to learn and grow and become the educator I wanted to be. Then, a couple years later, things started changing, and the process had to start all over. It's exhausting, but what I've learned is that the times I'm most passionate about teaching are the times when I am asking questions, trying new ideas, and pushing myself to change.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for asking questions. Just reading this post, I can already tell your students are incredibly lucky to have a teacher that questions the system and the traditions of old. Thanks for sharing.
Yes, Tyler! It might not have been what you thought it would be, but I am SO glad you are part of this group! What are you doing on Monday? Is it too crazy to ask the students? If they could write about anything, what would it be? If they could study literature that interests them, what would it be? I agree they need to have some sort of introduction to the options out there, some "gallery" or "tour" through some of what has been historically valued. But then we show them how to find the "good stuff" online, and let them discover either what benefits them most or interests them most. Or, what do YOU want to teach!? What are YOU passionate about? I feel most successful and engaging when I am excited about what im doing. Do all English teachers have to teach the same book to teach the same skills?
ReplyDelete^Allison
DeleteMy question is...when did we stop making it up?
ReplyDeleteWhen/how did we get to a place where we weren't allow to make it up as we went along? I love the questions you ask and I get a lot of the same responses regardless of content area.
In one of my favorite research pieces on Teacher PD: https://tntp.org/publications/view/the-mirage-confronting-the-truth-about-our-quest-for-teacher-development
It shows that PD only really pays off in the first 5 years of a teachers career....then no matter how much PD you get it does not affect change in the classroom.
I thought.....after year 5 we stop making it up. We settle in, we "think" we know what we're doing and we just do that. We need to get back to a place where we make it all up as we go along. That's the favorite part of my job. Just making it all up as it's happening. :)
Ha! Love it. The beauty of our jobs is that we get to create and move with the times and our clients. I think our 'making it up' comes back to our convictions as people, which is why I wrote about the importance of mission: https://theblairbear.blogspot.com/2018/11/the-importance-of-mission.html
DeleteShameless plug (I know), but I think it applies.
Tyler...I get it. I was the best at making it up in Southern California and UW decided to film me:)
Jeff...we need to chat more!
Teaching is a Jackson Pollock painting.