Magical Moments in Education- That Made Me Smile, Cry and Laugh

THE STORY CONTINUES...

The day I visited and observed Mr. Cunningham’s class, I wrote my classroom rules and procedures. I planned an engaging curriculum, rewards system and prepared myself for backlash of superimposing structure in a chaotic environment.

The teacher’s desk was a large drafting table. Mr. Cunningham sat behind it like a regal king in the classroom before took his naps. I got rid of it. I took down the over abundance of posters and visual stimulation to lighten the wall space with cooling clam colors. I hung homey pictures on the walls. Plants were used to add green to the room.

The learning disabled class was assigned a classroom aide. Her name was Ms. Baskovigch. The students often called her Ms. Baskobitch. She did not seem to notice. She lent the students money, which they never paid back, collected pens that did not work and picked her nose in class. 

Ms. Baskovich had a heart of gold and really loved her job. She was an elderly woman who never married. Since she was the unwed, it was her job to care for her mother. According to Ms. Baskovich, she did not enjoyed many things on her own. Ms. Baskovich’s days outside of school were spent taking care of her mother and taking direction from her married siblings. 

I felt for her and it was obvious that Ms. Baskovich was not very helpful in the classroom setting. One classroom session, I asked Ms. B. to write on the board as a dictated a sentence. I was not aware she could not spell. I did not ask her to write on the board again. Needless to say, I worked as best as I could with her strengths in the classroom. 

I would not accept any disrespect of Ms. B. and insisted the students call her Ms. B. in my presence. 

Later she complained that I was trying to change her name when she complained about me to the administration.

TO BE CONTINUED

Magical Moments in Teaching: That Make Me Smile, Cry and Laugh

Deep in my heart I am an educator; I love to teach. Recently, I was reflecting on why I have not finished my book about learning and developmental stages. Somewhere, I hit a writing block. I thought about my passions; I know I am a teacher geek. I love to see students make connections and I enjoy creating the vehicles or conduit of those connections. I have decided to write about my teaching for a while, those magical moments that made me smile, cry and laugh.  

LAUSD- Peary Middle School, Gardena California #1

When I was a new teacher in 1992, my first assignment was to take over midyear for a long-term sub that was horrible. Yes, horrible. His name was Mr. Cunningham. He described himself as a businessman yet here he was teaching Learning Disabled students in Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD). In conversation, Mr. Cunningham constantly self-promoted his business endeavors.

When I as hired to take his place I was told that the classroom was out of control. The students did not stay in their seats or the classroom. This classroom 69B often disturbed the surrounding classes. The Dean of Students was completely overwhelmed by constant streams of request from this particular classroom. It did not seem like an easy chore to come in and revamp an ongoing unstructured class.

 The first action I took was to observe the classroom in session. I needed to see the lay of the land. The students did know who I was or why I was in their classroom. I seated myself quietly in the back of the room. The classroom was decorated in as many posters as one room could hold! Visually, I was over simulated as I waited for class to start. (Note to self- overkill on the visual stimuli. More is not better) 

The classroom atmosphere was loud and boisterous. The students seemed nice enough but were not following any of the directions of the teacher or the classroom aide. No agenda of direction was on the board. Books and materials seem to be missing or scarce. Procedure seems to be lacking for classroom discussions, talking or appropriate language between peers and staff. Many jokes were told and no class work or teaching took place. Students openly discussed the waste of time.

At one point after lunch, Mr. Cunningham fell to sleep at the drafting table that served as his desk. It was truly a sad situation.

TO BE CONTINUED...

Colleges Remediate- We are in a Race To Nowhere

The New York Times reported that City University of New York is not providing higher education but remediation. This is not a shock. Education is currently based on state testing. The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, increased the role of the federal government in public education and also expanded the role of standardized testing. These alleged benefits of standardized testing permeate the public educational system causing harm to students, teachers and the future of public education as a whole. Colleges offer remedial, developmental and basic courses.

According to the California Department of Education, the purpose of standardized testing is “to measure how well students are learning the knowledge and skills identified in California’s content standards.” In addition, standardized testing results will assist with focusing curricular instruction and organizing teaching methods. The goals of standardized testing seem to be falling short; instead of measuring student knowledge and focusing instruction and methods, the rigor of testing seems to be a silent erosion of our school system.

According to the California Department of Education website’s data for July of 2008, 13, 237 students took the Math portion of the California Exit Exam and 13, 373 students took the English portion of the exam. 29% of the students passed the Math and 30% passed the English portions of the test for the state. When we superimpose the same standards on every student, teacher and school, we receive results that are disappointing—a race to nowhere.

These disappointing results are rooted in non-profit school communities maintaining for-profit activities, i.e., test scores. Data has become the catch phrase and teacher’s names are associated directly with their student’s scores. Improvement has been demanded on the back of a shocked system, and therefore an increase of assessments and pacing guides has followed. This increase of standardized testing is big business for the private sector.

Now colleges are feeling the results of a broken system. The documentary, "Race To Nowhere", chronicles the culture of today’s youth in public school. According to the documentary, the epidemic of standardized testing has produced a culture for cheating, disengaging students, stress-related illness, depression, burnout, and of compromised young adults seemingly unprepared and uninspired for the future.

Each community can stop the the “Race to Nowhere" by challenging the current system. This documentary is showing all over the the country, go see it. Spread the news to educators, parents, students and your community. Join the "Race to Nowhere" Facebook Page in your area. This is the link for the Los Angeles page. If a page or community group is not available for your area, start one. Let’s continue a dialogue to examine the facts regarding our educational system and make it our own again.