Blog 9
Reflection: "Why Schools Need to take Another Route," by Jeannie Oakes
This article talks about a lot of problems that schools need to avoid. Some points that are mentioned are uneven opportunities and unfair curriculum changes. I can relate to this article in many ways. When I was in high school I attended "normal classes." I had many friends who were in the "smart classes," such as AP. They would often talk about how much they are learning and the new material they were introduced to. They had teachers who were very passionate about their subject. Normal classes, on the other hand, didn't get that pleasure. I had teachers who acted like they didn't care.
One quote that stood out to me from the article is "In low ability classes, for example, teachers seem to be less encouraging and more punitive, placing more emphasis on discipline and behavior and less on academic learning." I have seen this first hand in my kindergarten project placement. My teacher is more focused on yelling at the kids than helping them academically. She is very stern with the kids which distracts them from their learning. The "problem kids" are stripped of the help that well-behaved kids receive. She thinks that their bad work is from them simply not trying. These kids just need extra help and less discipline. My teacher often refers to this one student as the role model of the class. This may make students feel like they aren't good or smart enough. I think teachers should always be encouraging to their students. Students need to feel like they are receiving an equal opportunity.
Question to discuss: Has anyone else experienced this in their placement?
I had the same type of experience in high school where I felt my teachers in the "normal classes" did not care as much about the topics they were teaching. I have also noticed that some teachers would rather focus on behavior than on academics which, in my opinion, is not alright. Those types of teachers normally watch the same behavioral students every second until they do something wrong which is unfair, but I have not experienced this in my placement though. Overall, great job!
ReplyDeleteAlthough in my placement for FNED I have not seen this as much due to me being in a fifth grade classroom where it is a bit different, however my practicum in another class I am in a preschool room. In the preschool room which I am in the teacher seems to be the opposite of the teacher you have been placed with. There are students with IEP's mixed in with peer model students and the teacher makes sure that each student gets the same amount of students and the teacher makes sure to never mention in front of the students who the peer model students are. I find this to be a much better way of learning.
ReplyDeleteI also had the same experience in high school with a lot of my friends being placed in AP classes. They always had so much more work, one on one time with the teacher and the teacher really focused on helping them succeed. When in my normal classes I was just another student. In my placement I haven't experienced the teacher focusing more on discipline than academics, but being in the school and observing I see many teachers who are like that.
ReplyDeleteLaura, your post is very personal and it has not gone unnoticed! Your quote concerning how some teachers are, "very passionate about their subject. Normal classes, on the other hand, didn't get that pleasure. I had teachers who acted like they didn't care, " hit home with me also as I also had some teachers who would focus rather on discipline and refer to their higher level classes as their down time or relief period during the day because they just had to teach instead of continuously stopping for kids using their phones, talking, etc. Which they said never happened in the higher level classes.
ReplyDeleteI do have this experience in my service learning. There is a student who has been student of the month two months in a row. He is way ahead of the class, he can write all of the vocab words and always finishes first on all of the quizzes. Then, the majority of the class struggles with writing the words, take longer, and some get stuck writing their name on the top of the page. It's sad because the teacher makes it seem like he's the model student and he's the smartest one in the class, but I think he may just be older than all of the other students and/or may have been practicing writing a longer time. The other students always feel discouraged to finish their quiz or raise their hand in class because this student is always the one that has the right answers and gets recognized for it.
ReplyDeleteIt's sad to hear that occurs in your service learning placement. In my classroom, there is alot of incorporation of kids at different academic levels in different groups to assist all kids to excel.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your viewpoint on this topic and I can also relate to your personal experiences in both high school & my kindergarten classroom. I've noticed that some of the groups are divided between high performing students and lower performing students, which I don't think is positive.
ReplyDeleteObviously I agree with your point about our placement considering we are in the same classroom. Although one thing I have noticed is when the teacher does make groups, she tends to put one role model in each group. Although, I really wish she was not so aggressive when speaking to the students.
ReplyDeleteas Josh said it is sad to hear this going on in your placement. That doesn't really happen in mine but I know if it did I would feel the same.
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