Quotes on Education

I close my eyes And I can visualize Things that may never be. Unless, of course, I take my dreams ... And turn them into reality. Sometime in the future, Someone may ask me, "Who taught you your values, Your skills, your determination?" And I will reply, "The same person who opened Locked doors without the key, Portals in my imagination, Windows in my mind, Holes in my seriousness. "A teacher taught me." Michelle Kao This quote sits in a picture frame in my classroom at my desk. I remind myself every day to strive to be that teacher. "Much education today is monumentally ineffective. All too often we are giving young people cut flowers when we should be teaching them to grow their own plants." -- John Gardner "It is not what is poured into a student that counts but what is planted." -Linda Conway I find this photo very fitting as well for how I currently feel towards education. While it may be hard to read, the students were each asked to write a singular noun in the plural form, then use it in a sentence, and draw a picture. Watching this child work on his assignment was exciting. He selected his word and then asked if he could go to our math center to get our connecting cubes. Of course I said yes out of curiosity as how this related to the assignment. I watched him count out connecting cubes, write a story problem and addition sentence ( our math lesson from the week).  With this in mind, I feel a true learning experience is not simply going through the motions of each lesson and answering questions correctly, but applying what you already know and integrating different subjects and topics together through your exploration of learning.  It is that small yet big learning moment, that motivates me.

The world of testing

Each day as a teacher we are committed to teaching the “whole child.” However, hidden within all of that, teachers, administrators, and even the students become stressed about the testing. In Tennessee’s case this is called the TCAP (Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program). Take a step into a 3^rd-8^th grade classroom around the end of March. There is a very different feeling that lingers in the air. Teachers are often reviewing previous skills as refreshers in mass quantities. While these scores have always been very important, as of this year these scores play a factor in the evaluations of the teacher each year. The scores are directly correlated with how well the teacher taught the material. I feel that if we are committed to teach the “whole child” then this should also be applied to the assessment types we use on our children. The form of testing we are currently using does not promote teaching the whole child. While the TCAP is not the form of testing used for students below 3^rd grade, the lower grades also have a form of assessment used. Many of my students struggle to read words they have never been exposed to which in turn impacts their answers. This is not an accurate way to assess if they know the content. They may have known the answer, but the new word confused them.

            I do think it is important to monitor where your students are in their learning because we can use that information to meet the students’ needs. However, the use of scores to impact teacher evaluations and student’s grades does not follow our mission to meet the whole child. These tests put a great deal of stress on the children, and are asking quiet a lot of a small 7 year- old. I do not know many people who are able to sit in front of a book completely quiet and on task for multiple hours.

            China took part in a new standardized test in 2010 called the Program of International Students Assessment. This test showed that students in China are doing best in Reading, Writing, and Math. While this is the first year with this form of test, there is also a form of test in China that many students prepare for even at a young age. This test known as the gaokao is a multi-day assessment used to determine if a student enters college. A principal in a school in China even mentions that the gaokao is all about straight forward, memorized answers. Creativity, deep, different answers get you no where in this test, whereas the memorized answers get you into the good universities. After the PISA test many principals in China are realizing a need for educational reform to stray away from the memorized answers.  After reading about the educational testing in China, I consider the pressure many of these students must be under. To think that one test is the only thing that determines if they go to college would truly stress me out throughout school. What if you were not a good test taking? What if you learned from oral assessments better?

Resource: Chinese Top in Test, but Educators call for Reform  http://www.npr.org/2010/12/29/132416889/chinese-top-in-tests-but-still-have-lots-to-learn