Mari_What I did over summer vacation...oops I mean 4th of July...

Blog Reflection July 7, 2013

Matt told us this week’s blog could be about what we did, if we listened to Harper High, etc…So what did I do over my 4^th of July holiday??? I did not listen to Harper High- I tried in the car and it was too distracting, that is why I don’t do audio books either.  Instead, my break was spent working on my big research paper and getting feedback from friends and family about what they feel about comparing the USA to Finland, Korea, etc; enjoying the company of my son, visiting a quiet retreat for my wedding anniversary (which is actually Monday) and then recovering from apparent food born illness.  Which I am still not quite recovered from so I am a bit behind…don’t worry though, Chapter 9 will be read by class time tomorrow! Oh and I blew things up with fireworks!!!

In regards to my research paper, I spend most of the week working on revisions and as I looked at my students’ perceptions of history, I took the time to reflect on the Schools book that we read.  I thought about how far schools have come especially when we are researching what students believe about school, their attitudes towards learning and general opinions about the expectations they are supposed to meet.  If my students think school is stupid- which some did say in surveys- then my questions are why? What can we do about it? Is a law going to fix this? Do kids in Finland think school is stupid or are they so in love with education that it is just part of who they are supposed to be within Finnish society?

What about schools who are under performing? Should their students be automatically forced into cram schools? Is this how other nations beat us again? I asked some friends and family members, who are retired teachers, about the country comparisons.  The feedback was fairly positive- we can always learn from others, but don’t create a template based on one particular success story and then slap it on another school, because it won’t work.  That is what happens within the state, within districts and even within schools- one teacher does something great and now everyone else has to do it too.  The veteran teachers also said that in their day (they have been retired for 8 or more years, all taught 20 + years) teachers did have more autonomy, more creativity to differentiate and not worry about kids getting equal time.  It was interesting to hear the stories of these teachers and learn that they used to have the opportunity to work one on one with special education students, gifted and talented students, instead of seeing these kids pulled out of their rooms. 

All of these teachers see good things in today’s educational settings, but they also see things that are not helping- teach to the test- decrease in the arts, social sciences and physical education.  Their recommendation for teachers still in the profession was to find the positive in everything we are asked to do, if we hate NCLB, then see that the positive was that it hoped to give students a chance to reach higher expectations than maybe others saw for them; if we hate CCSS, then see the positive in increasing rigor and reestablishing some creative in the classroom, creativity away from every answer being A, B, C, or D.  If we cannot find the positives in our jobs, then we cannot help kids find the positives in being in school.  Flatworld is depressing and not full of positives, so what positives can we take out of it? 1) The US is comparable to other nations, we are not so far off the charts that we are outliers with a weird educational system 2) We are a nation that likes subjects that are not solely math, science based, while STEM education is becoming front and center in the US, it has been the heart of other educational systems, we are still teaching art, PE, music in most general education schools, and do not save these for magnet schools.  3) While the US does not exhibit a strong “Culture of Education” we at least see a need for an educated population and set aside some money, pass laws, etc to reinforce this need.

You may disagree with any of the above statements, but remember I was looking for the positives. 

I think this is my motto for the year; I am still keeping “It is what it is” but am now embracing “Find the Positives”.  I cannot walk in to my school depressed about budget talks, negotiations, legislation because the kids read that, I have to walk in and say I have a job, I am financially stable, I do my job to the best of my ability and I am here for the kids.  These are my positives, no more negatives because that is what hurts education, when we forget the good and focus on the bad.