CA Assignment template

The tools, teaching strategies, and assessment ideas in this template were fascinating.  Some ideas had been presented to me in the first education classes I had taken, but I was never told why to use them.  It’s interesting to see the variety of assessments teachers can use to check for understand, or to deepen thought.  I think people often forget that reading comprehension, writing, and critical thinking must be taught.  These three skills don’t come naturally to the majority of students, and neither does the teaching of them.  In fact, I think reading comprehension is one of the hardest things to learn.  Writing and critical thinking require scaffolding, but reading comprehension, if not taught well, can become the biggest source of student failure.  Reading is still the number one source of giving and receiving information in school and beyond, and if a student can’t decipher text properly, they will have problems for the remainder of their schooling.  These skills aren’t just useful for school.  Students will need critical thinking, writing, and reading skills in their careers later on, and I think teachers should mention that.  So many students don’t go to college, but these things aren’t just for college-minded kids.  These are skills that everyone continues to use for the rest of their lives.  We have to be realistic about them.  Not all students are going to be able to master each of these skills, but if they have a good enough foundation of them and they continue to be taught with various methods throughout the 12 years of school, every child will be successful in the future. 

Common Core/ Common Core State Standards (Beach, Thein, Webb)

Common Core Standards have been a mystery to me until just recently.  I didn’t attend school in a state, or time, where standards were focused on, but since we moved to Washington State, my children have been elbow deep in the teaching of the standards.  It all seems very complicated to me, especially the math side.  I remember when the No Child Left Behind Act was implemented and I also remember how controversial it was.  Now, with Common Core Standards working hand in hand with the act, more controversy has arisen.  The Beach, Thein, and Webb article does a good job of justifying and describing how Common Core is meant to work for teachers and students, and how it is designed to present uniformity in curriculum so students don’t fall behind if they have to move.  So what’s the problem?  Not all states have adopted CCSS, and family transfers don’t just happen within the same state.

            We moved here from Texas in 2014.  My son was in first grade and had been taught without CCSS for three years.  He had an amazing handle on his academics already, but when introduced to CCSS standards, his academics took a plunge.  Not only did he become very confused, but he was intent on the fact that he was stupid.  He had been taught to memorize and regurgitate and that critical thinking was for “big kids”.  After he finally got a handle on the teaching methods of CCSS, he has blossomed academically.

            In reading the CCSS standards for reading, I noticed each grade requires the achievement of the same standards, only, when students advance to the next grade level, the standard becomes more detailed requiring a deepening of thought and understanding of text.  I noticed sixth through eighth grade have the same standards for three years, and high school standards are lumped as grades 9 and 10, and 11 and 12.  So does this mean a student gets two and three years to master the standard? 

The idea of teaching to the test in Beach, Thein, and Webb’s article really struck a nerve with me.  I feel that the greatest downfall of CCSS and No Child Left Behind is this notion that teaching to the test is replacing real teaching and learning. Schools are so worried about reaching standards and passing the state’s requirements that teachers are losing the passion they had before they started teaching and students are terrified they won’t graduate if they don’t fill in the correct bubble.  I have seen and taken the current test Washington State requires, and it is no easy task.

While the idea behind CCSS is wonderful, and its founders have the students best interest in mind, a big flaw still looms- high-stake testing.  I won’t truly understand the complexities and benefits of CCSS until I begin teaching, but I do see it at work, in my home, every day.  My biggest concern is if this “call to standards” is really going to work, it needs to be adopted nationwide.

Discussion as a way of Teaching

As a relatively quiet student, I have always feared contribution to a class discussion.  If I was forced to work collaboratively in school, I always felt more comfortable in a small group.  When I began my journey to become a teacher, I couldn't think of ways to spark my students' interest enough to get a discussion going.  The idea of stimulating a group discussion has been one of my biggest fears.  I have witnessed a few failed Socratic seminars in a few classrooms I have visited, and I have seen a teacher begging her class for participation that just wouldn't take shape.  Obviously my fear became greater.  Although I have been given many discussion methods, I have seen very few work out the way they were designed.  Brookfield’s ideas for class discussion are great!  His method obliges the teacher to be organized ahead of time in order to lead a successful discussion every time.  I really liked the solitary, team, group discussion idea where each student has the time to put their thoughts down on paper first, discuss ideas with one classmate, and after those ideas combine, the students form a small group to deepen the discussion.  Small group activities like this one, after some practice, would work in any classroom.  Brookfield also suggests different ways for students to self-monitor what they got from the discussion by taking a sort of exit survey.  I liked this too.  Not only does it help the student recognize what they gleaned from the discussion and how critically they can think, but it helps the teacher to see what worked and what didn’t in the activity.  Critical thinking and discussion are two skills I was never asked to learn.  My schooling was more of a soak and regurgitate method, and to this day, this is how I accomplish the majority of my studying.  I see it as a weakness both as a student and a future teacher.  I’m so glad I have this Brookfield tool to help me as I begin my practicum.  It couldn’t have come at a better time!  Now to practice!