My cooperating teacher during my student teaching experience taught one section of College in the Schools (CIS), so I had the opportunity to observe some of the classes and took note of some the same things that were brought up in the Beach readings. I think the biggest thing that elevated this particular class to a different level is that they were taking the class for college credit and were therefore treated and graded like college students. Although some of the kids in the class were very high achievers, not all of the students were at the top of their class (this particular high school also did offer honors and IB classes), but they all rose to meet the challenge and kept up with the course work as well as any freshman in college.
This experience serves as a reminder that we need to always keep our expectations high. Even if we don’t happen to be CIS or honors teachers, all students need to be pushed and held to the high standards that they deserve to achieve. Also, we can keep in mind that if they aren’t meeting our standards (or anyone else’s for that matter), it isn’t always because the student aren’t capable of meeting them, and we should reevaluate all the reasons they might have for not succeeding. CIS had a great motivator of college credit built in, but for our students that may not care about grades or other aspects of the institution of school, we need to be more creative. Or, sometimes it isn’t motivation, but external factors that they have no control over. A myriad of things affects the performance of our students, but we need to be flexible enough to work with those things while keeping those high expectations.
One other point that came up in the discussion of CIS classes and that I agree with is that teachers need to have ongoing useful training that they find valuable as well as opportunities to collaborate with their peers. Things are always changing and we have to make it a mission to do more than just attend the half-day seminar given by the out-of-touch administrators in the district office. Also, sometimes we forget what it is like to have a thoughtful conversation with someone who isn’t 16 and who shares some of the same ideas and background that we do. Being a lifetime learner takes work and energy, but that is really what will make us powerful and effective teachers year after year.
2 comments:
Life time learners...check. Active professional development...check. High expectations...check. High level of motivation...check. Life outside of school...pending. Seriously, I think every teacher knows how we could be beter teachers, but there is a balance. I wonder how much of a life teachers like Greg Hamilton, Eric what's his face who does the Mockingbird Monologues, and Darryl Parks have outside of school? I want to do all of these things but not at the cost of my sanity. I agree that all of these things are essential to creating a positive learning environment for kids, but at what cost to us? Maybe I am letting the end of the course guide my thinking a little here, but it is hard to consider all of these ideas and think about having time to do anything else.
Interesting to hear your observations about CIS. I also loved what you said about continuing to learn and talk things over with colleagues and other educators. The more I learn about teaching, the more I see exactly what you describe—so many of the best teachers are good because they make meaningful connections with other teachers that help sustain them.
As for Caitlin's concerns: said meaningful interactions can occur over Guinness and cheese curds at Psycho Suzi's (maybe that's just me).
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