Saber Tooth Curriculum
So … what did I learn? I learned that in not paying close enough attention to the publication date—I thought the book was published in 1971—it colored my understanding of what was written. Upon learning that the book was actually written in 1938 I perused it again. And while I saw some of the allusions to the Nazis and what was going on in Germany, I don’t believe that I really appreciated it as much as if I had seen it from the beginning.
What concerns me is that the very same things we rail against today were evident in the 30’s. How sad is that? The line about the Teacher’s Union was particularly galling because the DCPS version has been a useless organization in terms of pushing forward education. I also see that while I have always tried to stand up to the ridiculous and foolish demands of whatever administration is in charge at the time, in the end, just as it was before, a hopeless fight.
Those who are in charge, then as now, were not teachers. They were concerned with all matter of ideas that were colored by concerns that did not include actually doing things that benefitted students. The demands that tradition was paramount, that Fish Catching, Horse Dubbing, and Tiger Scaring must be taught without thought of real world consequences still pervades the thinking of people in charge today. However, they now are adopting “forward thinking approaches” that don’t take into consideration the realities of our student’s lives.
This information in and of itself is nothing new. The question that I have to ask myself is what should I do about it. And the answer seems to be fairly obvious. Close the door to my classroom and do what is best for my students. The notion that I should continue with Poor Design Decisions by my bosses seems ridiculous. In our discussions and Burma Shave Ads, it has become clear to me that there is a necessity to work from the inside out, to do what needs to be done and to help other teachers develop better Design practices. I really like the idea of Learn what you live and live what you learn. It is something that I would like to use as a guiding principle in all that I do.
I have always prided myself in never assigning any busy work. In fact, I have told my students that if they question my assignments, they should challenge my reasons for assigning them the work. If I cannot give them a satisfactory reason to do the assignment, they do not have to do it. Neither does anyone else in the class. Now I see that perhaps I need to revise my expectations. While I could always justify my assignments, perhaps I haven’t designed them as well as I could. I need to make sure that what I am teaching has more value than this is what happened and this is why. It has to be something they can use. If it isn’t, why bother?
I share your views on the age of the book and the timelessness of the same problems in education. Our area demands a higher income to have more things, and unfortunately a lot of teachers only got into teaching as a stepping stone to the administration positions. If someone really likes teaching and is good at it, then why don't they stay?
ReplyDeleteI, like you, would prefer to keep my doors closed and just do my thing, which I have been successful at for many years. Unfortunately Administration is not only forcing the doors of your classrooms open, but they want you to give all your experience to the new teachers through meetings of PLC's (professional learning committees). And they're not interested in what you think is best for the students, just do it, NIKE.
I too was shocked when I saw the book was written back in 1939. It is very comical that as a society we still have the same issues in education 74 years later. I agree that sometimes it is just nice to lock yourself in your classroom with your students and figure out new and creative ways to help them. I find in elementary education it is so hard to get enough time with them throughout the day to fully reach them. Between specials, student growth assessments, assemblies, and whatever else gets thrown at us at the last minute, I find myself scrambling to meet the needs of every single student I teach. It is an age old issue, that continues to not have a definitive answer.
ReplyDeleteAs I learn more in this class, it is opening my eyes to better practices. It is my goal to implement these strategies with my grade level team so that we can plan our lessons around real world scenarios. It is like you said, the end result has to be something they can use in the real world.
Unfortunately I have to agree with the idea of closing your door and doing what is right for your students. This may seem like a huge cop out but the school system and administration really leave you no choice. Really the school system should do everything in their power to make your life and the students lives better by creating an environment where you don't have to do as much of the administrative tasks that completely waster your time.
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