The following link grabbed me by every part of my being and pulled me in a dozen directions. Ultimately, all good. But it's one of those 'take pause' moments, too.
Ages ago I had the pleasure of being mentored by an extraordinary educator who literally saved me from leaving teaching in my first 3 months. Anyone that can recall that 'first year' knows what 'making it to Thanksgiving' can mean early on, and often you do so just to test the waters on 'quitting'. I'm sure 1st year teachers have always had it rough historically. Nature of the game. No crying in baseball and all that.
But in this day and age, the 1st year teacher has all the best and worst at once, and just 'surviving' can push even potentially talented early-stage teachers to the brink, and we're not even talking about the "Teach for America"/save the world mindset that has brought many into the profession but acts as a false safety net in many ways.
In any event, I was impressed by a 1st year teacher who had started a blog, rigorously deconstructing every nuance of his first year. Another blog friend (and experienced educator) and I were offering counsel to him, too. And the entire thing inspired me to write a post about 'surviving that first year' and focusing on what counts. Looking back on it, I'm humbled that it came together, but even more so I was humbled that someone took it, re-mashed it and published it on their own site with commentary...
...and then an entirely inspired conversation took off that went far beyond anything I had to say. This conversation started with my post ideas, simply, but soon a parent weighed in with the claim that teachers should "just teach the basics" and let the parents handle everything else (i.e. loving the kid, teaching the kid to be passionate, etc.)
From a parent: do me a favor and teach my kids grammar and leave the caring and communicating and impact to me. There’s burnout in every career, and you must do what it takes to get through the toughest days, but if all you’re bringing to my child’s classroom is passion and concern, then you’ve failed them in the long run.
...to which several teachers (some of them with kids of their own) responded with significant power suggesting that they would never check their love or passion at the classroom door, reminding the parent that you cannot divorce the two sides form the 'facts' and that the kids are with them 7-8 hours a day, far more than with their own parents"
Voice 1: I wouldn't worry about the grammar stuff. It is taught (although I would say not as much as it should be, as I get students in gr12 not knowing things that should have been covered.)I think you comments are very valid. There is a job to do, and I take it very seriously. I also agree that the most important role in a child's life is the parent in terms of caring and communicating. Statistically, this is the most impactful relationship on children.Your children, however, are in a teacher's care for 6 or 7 waking hours of the day, five days a week.I don't know about you, but I would rather have my children in the care of a caring and compassionate teacher who is filled with a passion for learning than with someone who is slamming your child over penmanship. "[I]f all you’re bringing to my child’s classroom is passion and concern, then you’ve failed them in the long run" (you). A huge portion of our job is that passion and concern. We have students entering our classrooms who will only find that concern there. I know it is a sad thing to say, but it happens. Some students see their teacher, the one who models concern and compassion for their students, as one of the only positive adult influences in their lives. Some students are struggling with life in general…Try telling what you said above to some of those students who come to a teacher to share their struggles and try to find support and guidance.
Voice 2: I teach the curriculum.I teach it well, but I also know that I couldn't tell you what my gr12 science teacher taught me, but I can tell you he believed in me as an individual. When I told him about my dreams, he went and got books for me from his personal collection about those things. He saw my interests, and he saw potential in me. My interests weren't in his 'specialty,' but he invested time and concern in me.I am happy to say that I teach alongside of this man.His (and other adult's) passion and belief in me as a person is partly why I have succeeded.By the way, I am also a parent. I want my son to learn his times tables and grammar and all the 'basics', but I also want to surround my son with role models who live their lives with passion and are excited about what they do; role models who care for him and love him even when he fails.I think this combination will help mentor him into a person of passion and love for others.Wouldn't you want that for your children as well?
Voice 3: No one is throwing out curriculum. It does need to be tempered with passion, creativity and enthusiasm. Until you’ve dealth with a room of 29 hormone riddled, insecure adolescents who don’t want to be there in the first place and your job is to teach them grammar, penmanship and reading comprehension, you won’t get it.Finally, I was at a conference this morning and there was a statistic buzzing around, (unfortunately, that is extent of the research I have to back it up - you can take my word for it or look it up if you don’t believe me) that the average teaching span for new teachers is five years. After that the majority of them leave the profession. Our teachers are molding the minds of our youth and in order to keep up with the global community we need creative, passionate teachers who can instill creativity and passion in students. That is what will make them successful in society - not penmanship.
Voice 4: Show me a classroom void of feeling, void of passion, void of love, a classroom that loves the book, loves the curriculum above all other things, and I’ll show you a classroom filled with uninspired students and a shriviled up teacher. As I said before, I think passion and effective curriculum delivery need not divorce. They should coexist. Powerful learning that sticks comes from passionate teachers who inspire by getting into influencing range. I, like James, can link my deepest life learnings from teachers who loved me, and were passionate about what they taught.
Again, my post sparked something...but it was a fraction of what came next. Simply inspiring and a reminder of why teachers still have fight left in them even in today's atmosphere! While I'd love comments here, I think better yet you should add comments on the other site. Truly.
*****
And the rest of the story.
Just went to email the parent directly, to applaude them for saying something that would be met with challenge, and to let them know that I didn't give up 'grammar' just to be passionate that first year. In fact, I was often working until 2 in the morning doing research and grading papers, so passion is what got me through those days where I was thread-bare.
Funny. He has deleted his email/blog address...and thus is no longer available. Wonder if the responses he received were 'too much' for him. Perhaps if he had left the 'opinions' about education/teaching to everyone else...and just worried about the 'basics' of his profession.
(Sorry, had to be said...but with a wink of an ironic eye, Steve!)
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