Mr. Atherton wrote: There are simply things you cannot do with a class of
15 that you can do with one student. . . (True, I concur. . .) BTW, why are
these threads so focused on teachers' needs,
rather than students and achievement?
First, I would like to ask how we define student achievement. Grades?
Standardized test scores? College readiness? I think depending on how we
define student achievement, there is possibility for a variety of different,
possibly even conflicting, answers.
Second, I believe that students need as much individualized attention as
possible. The more students in a class, the less likely each student will
get the support and attention they need and deserve. Also, when students
produce work, they need effective feedback. . . feedback which takes time to
provide. Multiple choice tests may be easy to grade, but I don't find them
terribly effective at assessing critical thinking skills. Group projects
may cut down on the number of projects to grade, but may not effectively
assess the knowledge and skills of each individual group member. And, the
creativity also takes time.
The time factor comes in yet again when needing to cover the standards
required by the state in the time given in the school year. MPS students
may be in school 171 days, but within those days there are countless
interruptions. Four years ago, I kept a count of class minutes I lost to
testing schedules, late starts (now gone), and various other interruptions.
I lost the equivalent of nearly 31 classes before May. And, this year,
I've lost five minutes from every class every day to support a school wide
Silent Sustained Reading.
Finally, I do not see the needs of students and the needs of teachers being
all that separate and hope that my comments show that. As I said, the
biggest issue I saw raised in Mr. Brandt's article, by Mr. Berglund and Mr.
Boucher, was the issue of time and it is lack of time that I hear from other
teachers as being one of the biggest stressors in the job of teaching.
Happy Turkey Day to Everyone!
Brionna Harder
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