Now, my second thought of this compare and contrast of a measurement world to a universe of possibility hits a little closer to home. In Chapter 2, the author presents the measurement world as a setting a goal and then going out and achieving it, compared to the universe of possibility as the individual creating the contexts and letting life basically take the reigns. I couldn't help but think of how the state of education has wrapped itself up in this standards-based, must reach proficiency era, and it has basically cornered itself in this measurement world feel.
As an educator, I unfortunately am caught in this web and try my best to reach the goals that I set for my students and myself. However, as I reflected on this way of thought, I realized that this world of measurement doesn't allow for much freedom when attempting to learn for the love of learning. In other words, I don't feel that I have the freedom to teach in a "universe of possibility" classroom because of all the pacing guides, rigorous standards, and scripted lessons that I "must" teach to in order for test scores to increase. Where has this universe of possibility within education disappeared to? And how am I as a teacher trying to reverse the effect and give my students the feeling that anything is possible when grades and performance are at the forefront? I would rather my students understand that taking risks and making mistakes are the priority. I would rather hear my students say to themselves, "How fascinating!" when they receive a D on a test or make an uncommon error. That is real life learning and having a vision in a world of possibility! The photo used in this blog is from Flickr, under the Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.0 Generic License.
Photo attributed to:
"always make new mistakes" by elycefeliz
Great observations and comments. I was lucky enough to leave the classroom when the rules and restrictions came down hard and heavy on my low performing school. Prior to this I had teamed up with the two other 6th grade teachers (self-contained classrooms) and we devised a plan where each of use would teach the other two classes in one subject, so that our students would benefit from more in-depth units. i took Social Studies, and my other two partners took Math and Science. We then started working with our students after-hours particularly on Math and testing skills. Funny thing was what within less than a year we crushed the district testing strategy which is how they picked which students would attend the premier middle school/high school. Previously they assumed that if any of our students qualified, that we'd only send at most two. That year we sent six or seven and they had to change the system. Because part of the problem with most low performing schools is poor management of teachers, I've tended to recognize this as an opportunity to do what will work for learning in a way that pulls students into the process AND helps them improve in testing. My motto was "Nothing succeeds like success," and as long as my students (and partners' students) performed above the standard than they were less likely to micro-manage my procedures. In our Tech/Media Resources section of FSO I have a video from a friend who shared a similar disposition, Dr. Ron Smith: http://jbbsedtechplace.com/2010/03/ron-smith-interview-use-any-method-to-reach-students/ enjoy.
ReplyDelete