Hang in there, Marcus. I thank you for taking time to share your thoughts, feelings, hopes, and fears.
I don’t know where we are headed, but where we were/are could no longer be sustained.
Alongside teaching full time, I mentor educators in my content area going through credentialing ed & county programs and I can tell you that these younger teachers are hungry to go beyond Kahoots and Tik Tok; they want to actually teach, they want to learn to do differently, and it’s really refreshing.
It’s also exhausting for them: to be paying for these ed programs and out not knowing how to design instruction for learning or transfer of learning.
I think the cognitive dissonance which will be required by all is to take a step back besides partisan lenses and say: yep, that doesn’t work. Yes, that’s uncomfortable, but parents this is what it means. Etc.
I can also tell you that I have taught in rural, urban, charter, private in 3 states (sharing this not as a matter of pride; it’s a result of circumstances) and in the end no matter the storms and upheavals on the outside, the decisions made by the local boards within the confines of what a state allows and doesn’t makes all the difference.
Local leadership often needs the boot.
I say that fully aware: well, who does one replace them with?
It’s a curricular problem and when something remains circular this many decades—something’s gotta give. sometimes we go in the wrong direction (too early for me to make that call) before course correcting. but it’s better than standing still.
Station Eleven is one of my favorites, too! Thank you for this reflection. Your little bit of joy in your classroom is pushing back against all the awful in the world by making a real difference for these students. I resonate with this a lot! Our life’s work is not just to rail against the bad things that are outside our control, but to do the good work that is within our sphere of influence.
And look! By writing about your thoughts, your sphere of influence has grown to encourage me, too, and other educators around the world.
I taught _Twelve Angry Men_ in my 8th grade US History class last year as part of our Bill of Rights unit. It was a highlight of the year for many. Adding in the ties is a great idea for me next time. :)
I typically alternate throughout the year between being in a place where I need to reread the book and being in a place where I need to rewatch the HBO adaptation of it. Rinse/repeat as necessary. (Which is quite frequently these days.)
I enjoy your musings and perspective. I will take some time to read your suggestions. Regarding the Dept. of Ed, I think we need to start by evaluating it as a whole. What has it invested and what overall benefit has it had? Often, I think well-meaning programs are rolled out that require districts to hire people to do all of the paperwork to run them. This takes needed resources out of the local schools and districts themselves. I would like to see more agency given to states and, ultimately, local districts to figure out how best to teach our kids. Having so many decisions so far from the teacher and the kid has led us astray, and the rates of reading and doing math proficiently have definitely plummeted. Keep sharing our classroom wisdom and magical moments. I would like to see more support given directly to you on how to better support learning in the classroom. We are currently in a system that is broken. I teach Special Ed high school in CA, and the system is a mess. Fortunately, my school is working together to solve as many problems as possible, and we are making progress, but this is due to our amazing experienced admin team that is given support to solve the problems of our school. We are even making progress in special ed, but that still has a ways to go. I agree with another post here that we should focus on problem-solving rather than partisan issues. We spin our wheels and emotions looking through partisan lenses, leaving no strength to solve the problems. Keep up the great writing.
So glad to find another Station Eleven fan! Whenever I travel I always scope out my future residence in the airport, just in case :)
Hang in there, Marcus. I thank you for taking time to share your thoughts, feelings, hopes, and fears.
I don’t know where we are headed, but where we were/are could no longer be sustained.
Alongside teaching full time, I mentor educators in my content area going through credentialing ed & county programs and I can tell you that these younger teachers are hungry to go beyond Kahoots and Tik Tok; they want to actually teach, they want to learn to do differently, and it’s really refreshing.
It’s also exhausting for them: to be paying for these ed programs and out not knowing how to design instruction for learning or transfer of learning.
I think the cognitive dissonance which will be required by all is to take a step back besides partisan lenses and say: yep, that doesn’t work. Yes, that’s uncomfortable, but parents this is what it means. Etc.
I can also tell you that I have taught in rural, urban, charter, private in 3 states (sharing this not as a matter of pride; it’s a result of circumstances) and in the end no matter the storms and upheavals on the outside, the decisions made by the local boards within the confines of what a state allows and doesn’t makes all the difference.
Local leadership often needs the boot.
I say that fully aware: well, who does one replace them with?
It’s a curricular problem and when something remains circular this many decades—something’s gotta give. sometimes we go in the wrong direction (too early for me to make that call) before course correcting. but it’s better than standing still.
Have a restful Thanksgiving holiday break!
Station Eleven is one of my favorites, too! Thank you for this reflection. Your little bit of joy in your classroom is pushing back against all the awful in the world by making a real difference for these students. I resonate with this a lot! Our life’s work is not just to rail against the bad things that are outside our control, but to do the good work that is within our sphere of influence.
And look! By writing about your thoughts, your sphere of influence has grown to encourage me, too, and other educators around the world.
I taught _Twelve Angry Men_ in my 8th grade US History class last year as part of our Bill of Rights unit. It was a highlight of the year for many. Adding in the ties is a great idea for me next time. :)
Station Eleven is such a gorgeous book!! I love the connections you made here.
I typically alternate throughout the year between being in a place where I need to reread the book and being in a place where I need to rewatch the HBO adaptation of it. Rinse/repeat as necessary. (Which is quite frequently these days.)
For your Czeslaw Milosz, Zbigniew Herbert (translated by Milosz):
"cemeteries grow larger the number of defenders shrinks
but the defense continues and will last to the end
and even if the City falls and one of us survives
he will carry the City inside him on the roads of exile
he will be the City
we look at the face of hunger the face of fire the face of death
and the worst of them all—the face of treason
and only our dreams have not been humiliated"
From "Report from a Besieged City", Warsaw, 1982
https://www.nybooks.com/articles/1983/08/18/report-from-a-besieged-city/
"and only our dreams have not been humiliated" is quite a line...appreciate you sharing this!
I enjoy your musings and perspective. I will take some time to read your suggestions. Regarding the Dept. of Ed, I think we need to start by evaluating it as a whole. What has it invested and what overall benefit has it had? Often, I think well-meaning programs are rolled out that require districts to hire people to do all of the paperwork to run them. This takes needed resources out of the local schools and districts themselves. I would like to see more agency given to states and, ultimately, local districts to figure out how best to teach our kids. Having so many decisions so far from the teacher and the kid has led us astray, and the rates of reading and doing math proficiently have definitely plummeted. Keep sharing our classroom wisdom and magical moments. I would like to see more support given directly to you on how to better support learning in the classroom. We are currently in a system that is broken. I teach Special Ed high school in CA, and the system is a mess. Fortunately, my school is working together to solve as many problems as possible, and we are making progress, but this is due to our amazing experienced admin team that is given support to solve the problems of our school. We are even making progress in special ed, but that still has a ways to go. I agree with another post here that we should focus on problem-solving rather than partisan issues. We spin our wheels and emotions looking through partisan lenses, leaving no strength to solve the problems. Keep up the great writing.