Topical Teaching

Teacher Myth #1

January 7, 2011

I’m excited to start a new series of posts on the theme of teacher myths. Every week I will be examining a teacher myth.

Teacher Myth 1:

A Teacher’s Job is to Teach, Not to Concern Themselves With the Social Dynamics of the Classroom

I remember a student I encountered during my second round of placements as a student teacher. The boy (I will refer to him by the name Max), was a teacher favourite. He was well-mannered, courteous to others, bright, hard-working, loved learning and a very good listener. Max had a glaring problem that didn’t seem to worry his teacher one bit. As soon as the bell would ring for recess he would go out with the other kids, make a bee line straight for the line-up area, and sit himself down on the line waiting for the inside bell to ring. And there he waited all by himself, desperate to do away with playtime and stick to what he was good at – working in the classroom.

The first time I noticed Max striking a lonely figure at the line, I did nothing about it. What could I do? I reflected on it that night and decided that if it happened again the following day I would try to help him in whatever way I could. Sure enough the very next recess saw Max sitting at the head of the line-up area, waiting for the bell. I approached him and sat next to him, saying nothing to him so as not to make him anxious. I just sat there until he gave me eye contact. Instead of advising him to go out and play with friends and reminding him about obvious details like the quality of the weather and the importance of exercise, I opened the conversation by enquiring about his interests, hobbies, what his parents did for a living etc. After a few minutes we were engaged in a wonderful conversation. So good was our chat, that Max’s classmates started to become curious and soon enough there was a group of students at the line-up area listening and contributing to my conversation with Max. You could tell how surprised they were to find out how interesting this loner was and how different he was to their past perceptions of him.

Here is a kid who gets good grades, great reports and glowing feedback from his teachers based on his academic performance, yet needs as much help in school as the struggling student sitting next to him.

Good teachers know that if you limit your job to the dissemination of facts alone, you are letting down your students.

It’s very important to improve the academic skills and convey facts and concepts to the class, but in my view it is of equal importance to ensure that your students are well looked after, are managing socially and have a positive sense of self. If school was just about academic achievement it would have to be viewed as in institution designed for many to fail. There are students in every class who will not find learning maths, science etc. easy at all. They are not natural academic. This is more than alright, because with the right attitude and a patient teacher they can progress beyond their wildest dreams. School is not just about academics, it’s about finding a place in a group, contributing for and co-operating with others. So much of ones youth is spent at school. If there isn’t a great deal of time put in to helping the children gain a sense of self and a place where they harness their diverse skills and qualities, then sadly it is a huge opportunity lost.

That’s why I am not surprised that anti-bullying programs have proved ineffective. You cannot deal with the problem through a peripheral program, you have to make the self-esteem and quality of life of students paramount. Equal to their academic performance. After all, your students in time will probably forget about the important dates during the Civil War and will have long ago lost a knowledge of single-celled organisms and The Fibonacci Sequence. What they will however take with them is memories of positive and negative interactions with teachers and students during their school years. Unfortunately, for way too many, those interactions have been particularly negative and destructive.

The best teachers (for which I can only aspire to be one day), are not content with academic performance within the classroom. They want much more from their students. They want their students to have an appreciation for themselves and others. They want them to develop a selflessness and to harness their ability to find compassion for others and make constructive life choices. If my students don’t become lawyers or doctors (not that there is anything wrong with that), it won’t worry me one bit. I just want my students to grow up to live happy and constructive lives, to look out for others and to carve out a legacy for themselves.

If you have a child who is floundering socially or is being harassed at school, it is more than appropriate, in fact it’s advisable that you alert the teacher. And if that teacher shows a lack of interest in the matter, then he/she isn’t doing their job properly.

Tags: Bullying, Education, life, Myths, Parenting, Teaching
Posted in Bullying, Teacher Myths | 10 Comments »

Time to Take Better Care of Our New Teachers

January 6, 2011

My school recently employed a teacher straight out of University. He will commence teaching his first ever class in February. As I moved out of my classroom, so he could move in, I spotted him staring at the room in adulation. I asked him what was going through his mind, to which he replied, “This is it. This is my classroom!”

I know how he feels. Whilst I was going through the rigours of teaching training, I would drive past schools along the way and be filled with envy at the teachers already able to ply their trade. I so much wanted to skip the rest of my course and move straight it to my first classroom. People told me I was an idealist and those feelings towards teaching would erode two weeks into my first school year. It didn’t. It still hasn’t.

This leads me to a very important issue. If young teachers like my colleague have such a love for the craft and such a desire to become effective teachers, why is it so hard for them to get jobs?

I was reading an article which illustrates the plight a teacher has to face, to get their first solid job:

LAST year Melbourne Magazine named teacher Michael Stuchbery one of its top 100 Melburnians for using social media to revolutionise the teaching of civics.

His year 8 students at Caroline Chisholm Catholic College, many of whom previously could not name the electorate in which they lived, transformed into political animals, using blogs and Twitter to follow the federal election, and were interviewed on Channel Ten’s The 7pm Project.

But instead of being rewarded for his innovation, Mr Stuchbery, along with thousands of other Victorian teachers on short-term contracts, is out of a job.

January is a fraught month for teachers employed on fixed-term contracts – about 18 per cent of the workforce – who are faced with job interviews and uncertainty about their future.

”A lot of positions are filled in January, which is why contract teachers are nowhere near the beach right now,” Australian Education Union state president Mary Bluett said.

Annual surveys by the union repeatedly show contract employment is the top reason beginning teachers give for why they do not see themselves teaching in five years.

It took me a year to get my first job. I had the hunger, the good University grades, I was well read, an excellent communicator – but not what they were looking for. Each application required extensive responses to a set of about 8 Key selection criteria. It took me a day to respond to each schools criteria (as each school had different selection criteria I couldn’t cut and paste). Most of those applications didn’t even land me an interview.

Why is this the case?

A number of reasons.

1. The University training offered is completely and utterly inadequate. The training is so useless, I can’t recall an important fact or skill I learnt from my training. Schools know they would be employing a very raw teacher that will require a lot of patience and support. They are too lazy for such an undertaking.

2. With initiatives like the My School Website which ranks every school against each other on how they perform in the national test, the NAPLAN, schools are careful not to select a teachers they don’t have confidence will show their worth from the outset. They have their reputation to uphold.

3. Parents tend to be weary when a first-year teacher gets appointed to teach their child, in the same way a patient prefers to see some wrinkles in their surgeon. Schools like to avoid parent intervention by making safe, low risk choices.

All these factors are completely beyond the prospective new teacher’s control. They have no say in the strength or weakness of their course, the can’t control Government initiatives like the NAPLAN and My School Website and if a school wants to avoid risk, there is nothing they can do about it.

This reality is a crying shame. I would have thought that the best, most vibrant staff rooms feature teachers of all ages and experience. Surely, the horrendous plan to make new teachers “school cloggers” by shipping them off to a under-funded and under-performing rural school is exactly not how to deal with the problem. The answer is for schools to show some backbone and create a framework where these teachers feel welcome, supported and mentored.

The new teacher that enters their classroom for the first time with a sense of joy and calm. Isn’t that what it’s all about?

Tags: 2011, Careers, Education, Jobs, life, News, Schools
Posted in Naplan, Teacher Training, Teacher Welfare | 1 Comment »

This is the Program You Want To Cut?

January 4, 2011

Governments are good at introducing programs that go nowhere and cost the taxpayer a fortune, but rarely institute a program that actually contributes positively to schools. The schools chaplaincy program which offers pastoral care for students in need is a great initiative. It gives schools the funding to employ a counselor or pastor to assist with students who require help with anxiety, personal, academic or social issues.

Surely a program like this would be a candidate for increased funding, right? Well, apparently not:

THE schools chaplaincy program is being investigated by the Commonwealth Ombudsman after a highly critical report of its operation in the Northern Territory. At the same time, a High Court challenge has been launched by critics of the scheme to which successive federal governments have committed $437 million.

Critics don’t like the fact that such a large proportion of the pastors are Christian. They argue that such a service undermines the separation of church and state. Although most of the chaplains are Christian, some like the one working in my school are not. The fact that such a large proportion is Christian has no bearing on the opportunity for a given school to use the grant to get a non-religious counsellor.

Critics also point to the fact that these pastors are not qualified. To fund qualified counselors in 3700 schools would cost considerably more than the $437 million already invested in the scheme. At least it’s something. It may not be a Rolls Royce scheme but I can testify to its effectiveness. Yes there are concerns of unqualified counselors having access to personal information, which is why my school makes the teacher and parents fill out forms before our Wellbeing Officer can start taking sessions. It is up to the school to ensure that the parents are informed and co-operative not the Government.

The likelihood is that this program will be scrapped. If so, I think it should be replaced with an even better version of the same thing. Chances are, it will be replaced with something more costly and completely ineffective.

Tags: Christianity, Education, Parenting, Pastoral Care, Politics, religion
Posted in Pastoral Care | 7 Comments »

There’s a Reason Why Teachers Cheat

January 3, 2011

Let me say this right off the bat – I don’t approve of cheating. It is unethical and lacks integrity for teachers to cheat. But let’s not let that discount the likely reasons behind their dishonesty.

It’s called the NAPLAN – Australia’s version of the infamous national test. And as the recent case in South Australia highlights, it can bring out the worst in some teachers:

A PRIMARY school teacher has been sacked and another reprimanded for cheating in national tests.

A former St Leonards Year 7 teacher was stood down following an investigation by the Education Department into her administration of the NAPLAN tests in May last year.

Correne Woolmer, who joined the Glenelg school at the beginning of 2010, admitted changing answers on a student’s test.

Ms Woolmer isn’t the only teacher to get caught, and she certainly isn’t the only teacher to cheat on the test. I’m sure many more teachers have gotten away with doing the same thing.

The NAPLAN test like other National tests around the globe have an important function. Their job is to give information to parents about their childs’ progress, which includes a comparison against all others taking the test in that age group.

But what it also does is set up the teacher. The teacher carries the blame for the results. It is the teacher that is the first port of call when parents seek an explanation – it is the teacher that is labelled as insufficient when the school analyses the data.

Such pressures lead teachers to teach for the test rather than the typical authentic adherence to the curriculum. This is not the way teachers are supposed to teach. It also puts more pressure on teachers. Teachers are already under significant strain. We must be mindful that this system puts them in a situation where their performance is scrutinised like never before. And finally, a test is just a guide. It is not a perfect form of assessment. Many factors can cloud and effect the conclusions made by the data such as student anxiety, outliers etc.

Cheating is wrong, and teachers that cheat deserve to be punished. But somehow I feel that by administering national tests, teachers are getting punished regardless.

Tags: Education, life, naplan, News, Stress, Teachers
Posted in Naplan, Teacher Welfare, Teachers Stress | 2 Comments »

Education New Years Resolutions

January 2, 2011

These are some New Years resolutions I suggest the Education sector should take on for 2011:

1. Stop Putting Unnecessary Pressure on Teachers – Sure it is important to scrutinise teachers and ensure that poor teachers don’t preside over a classroom. But if you base whether a teacher is good or otherwise on a test you run the risk of the following consequences:

Teachers teach to a test rather than typical authentic teaching
Inexperienced teachers will be frightened off from continuing in the profession due to the pressure to perform
Teachers will be labelled in a manner we have never seen before
Some good teachers will be mistakenly called poor based on circumstances partly beyond their control.

2. Continue Fighting Bullying – 2011 has to be dedicated to making students feel better about school, by striving to create an environment that is tolerant and bully-free. School cultures must change where necessary. Exterior programs are fine, but they are often at the mercy of endemic school culture deficiencies.

3. Stop Playing Public and Private Schools Against Each Other – The media has been chipping away at this one. Comparing public and private schools for funding and achievement can be counter-productive. Instead of pitting them against each other, Governments should be trying to improve the quality of all sectors for all people. Let both Public and Private schools flourish.

4. Pressure the Education Union – The Education Union needs to step up and show us they are relevant. Of late they have come across as pussy cats, giving in to big issues without even a fight. The rule that all teachers in a school must be Union members before they even consult with the staff about conditions and wages, puts teachers under pressure from colleagues to sign up whether they want to or can afford to. This is not acceptable.

5. Lessons Must Come Alive – The trend towards direct instruction teaching means lessons are becoming more turgid and less engaging. Similarly, there needs to be a greater emphasis on problem solving and critical thinking.

6. Forget about the National Curriculum – The draft was a huge disappointment. New curriculums don’t change outcomes. Improved conditions and support does.

7. Look After New Teachers – This includes improving the quality of teacher training, which at the moment is not up to scratch. New teachers require more support. The idea of filling holes by putting new teachers in remote schools is just the tonic for scaring away potentially phenomenal teachers. Don’t let them sink or swim, but rather, put structures in place that allows them to be nurtured and supported in the crucial early years.

Please feel free to add some of your own suggestions.

Tags: 2011, Education, life, New Years, Resolutions, Schools
Posted in Bullying, Education Union, Teacher Training, Teacher Welfare, Teachers Salary, Teachers Stress | 8 Comments »

Anti-Bullying Programs Not Working

December 31, 2010

The sad reality is that whilst schools all over the world are becoming increasingly aware and proactive on the issue of bullying, the programs and structures put into place to address the problem are simply not working.

An example of this is Seattle’s bold and noteworthy decision to adopt a Norwegian program that seemed to reduce incidents by up to 50%. The program included the formation of committees, parent and teacher tutorials, and regular student meetings.

Yet a rigorous scientific analysis, after three years, showed the program had no overall effect.

“When we have big problems like bullying we are desperate. We want to do something,’’ said Paula Lozano, a University of Washington professor of pediatrics and a coauthor of the Seattle study. “Doing something feels better than not doing anything.’’

Research suggests that despite good intentions and feverish competition to pinpoint a solution, antibullying programs have shown, at best, mixed results, and what has worked in one school has not always worked in another.

Among the most authoritative and wide-ranging evaluations of antibullying programs is a 2009 study by Cambridge University researchers. The pair unearthed hundreds of scientific evaluations of individual programs, a number of which they ignored because the studies had not used acceptable methods. Of the 44 they deemed reliable, just 19 showed significant reductions in bullying.

I personally feel that schools should be congratulated for finally taking the issue seriously. I however feel that fighting bullying requires more than peripheral programs, but also an inner focus on the culture of the school and its community. I have developed my own set of principles for tackling bullying in my classroom. Feel free to read my earlier post which explains what my model is and how it has worked for me.

Tags: Bullying, Education, life, News, Parenting, Psychology, Schools, Seattle
Posted in Bullying | 3 Comments »

Think Before You Medicate Our Children!

December 30, 2010

Dear Medical Profession,

Whilst I am no expert and don’t pretend to be, I am bewildered at the rate in which kids are being prescribed medication in the US especially. I read the Wall Street Journal article about prescription drug use among children and teenagers in the US, and I just shook my head in disbelief.

Below are some of the passages from the article that disturbed me:

These days, the medicine cabinet is truly a family affair. More than a quarter of U.S. kids and teens are taking a medication on a chronic basis, according to Medco Health Solutions Inc., the biggest U.S. pharmacy-benefit manager with around 65 million members. Nearly 7% are on two or more such drugs, based on the company’s database figures for 2009.

Doctors and parents warn that prescribing medications to children can be problematic. There is limited research available about many drugs’ effects in kids. And health-care providers and families need to be vigilant to assess the medicines’ impact, both intended and not. Although the effects of some medications, like cholesterol-lowering statins, have been extensively researched in adults, the consequences of using such drugs for the bulk of a patient’s lifespan are little understood.

But children and teens are also taking a wide variety of other medications once considered only to be for adults, from statins to diabetes pills and sleep drugs, according to figures provided to The Wall Street Journal by IMS Health, a research firm. Prescriptions for antihypertensives in people age 19 and younger could hit 5.5 million this year if the trend though September continues, according to IMS. That would be up 17% from 2007, the earliest year available.

So, one-quarter of kids in the US are on medication. Is this acceptable? Is this not far too high? Is it going to get higher in the future? Are we going to have half of our kids on medication? Why don’t we put all kids on meds? That’s where we are going, aren’t we?

As I stated, I am no expert. I just find it hard to believe that so many kids rely on medication. It doesn’t sit well with me. Am I just behind the times, or is this generation of medical professionals comfortable with prescribing medication to kids in such high numbers without adequate research?

Yours sincerely,

MICHAEL

Tags: Children, Doctors, Drugs, Education, kids, life, Medication, Medicine, News, Parenting, People
Posted in Children and Medication | 1 Comment »

Are We Obsessed With Obesity?

December 29, 2010

Sarah McMahon, a specialist on the subject of eating disorders, claims that our obsession with obesity has resulted in increased cases of eating disorders.

“Children are being given maths assignments where they have to count calories,” she said.

“Education is helpful for some people but for some with certain personality characteristics, it can tip them over into a disorder.”

Eating disorder support group Butterfly Foundation chief executive officer Christine Morgan said most anti-obesity messages had a high focus on dieting.

This could lead to disordered eating including binge eating and possibly bulimia or anorexia.

I agree that we may be a little obsessed with the term obesity, but I just don’t see the link between obesity and eating disorders. I imagine that kids are worried about being larger than their ideal size, sometimes much larger, but I don’t think kids are worried about obesity. I’m no expert, but I don’t think obesity takes up much of our kids head space. I think they are worried about not being thin enough to be considered attractive or feel pressured to lose weight to fit in. But obesity? I can’t see the link.

Regardless, kids should not be hounded by horror stories on the dangers of obesity or made to count calories. Instead they should be given the reassurance they need to be comfortable in their own skin, the education they need to make healthy choices and the support they need to be self-assured, confident and happy.

Tags: Eating Disorders, Education, Health, life, Nutrtion, Obesity, Parenting, People, Weight
Posted in Childhood Obesity, Nutrition | Leave a Comment »

Meet The Free-Range School

December 28, 2010

I’m not sure a “school with no rules” would work for everyone. But for any criticism one could come up with for schools like Currambena, one thing is true. Schools like this one are the result of an education system that puts results ahead of student welfare and arcane rules and regulations in the place of building an environment in which children can thrive.

Currambena works very differently to the typical school:

There’s no morning bell to signal the start of the school day, either. Children simply gravitate towards classrooms when ‘inside time’ begins. Some stay digging in the vegie patch and if, for some reason, a child wants to spend the day doing maths in the tree fort, so be it. There are no room numbers or official grades, no tests, no lining up, no homework.

For a start, if children aren’t forced to sit in class and finish their maths, how do parents know whether they’ll bother at all? Rachel Turner, who sends her kids to the school, recalls how it worked for her: “I took school very seriously and was incredibly involved in it. I was never tempted to shirk, because learning was fun.

“As long as teachers know the children are participating – that nobody is being left behind – the kids have the freedom to do what they need,” she adds. “Teachers make sure everyone is reading and writing, of course, but if a child is consumed in one activity, why shouldn’t they be allowed to continue it?”

I’m not sure that schools like this one will become the norm. I can’t see this style of school appealing to more than a certain niche. However, it does remind us that schools are too cold and out of touch.

There are far more people out there who have had terrible experiences through school compared to those that reflect on their school days in glowing terms. This is simply not good enough. We spend the best part of our youth at school and the argument that “it is what it is” doesn’t wash with me.

Perhaps we don’t need something as revolutionary and extreme as a free-range school, but certainly not what we have at the moment.

Tags: Education, Family, kids, life, News, Parenting, Schools, Teaching
Posted in School Rules | Leave a Comment »

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