The following comment is from Diane Ravitch's blog posting, "We Don't Have Time."
October 12, 2012 at 10:04 pm
I have been a full time elementary school teacher in Montgomery County Public Schools for 26 years, and after my first year have always received strong evaluations i.e. have never been in danger of requiring PARS. That being said, however, in recent years my autonomy to work for my students’ best interests has been steadily eroded, and more and more time each school year gets used up for standardized assessments. Innovations I have created using puppets in the classroom have pretty much been necessarily set aside in order to keep up with the unwieldy Curriculum 2.0, which specifies what is to be covered every week, yet with almost no guidance as to how several content areas are to be integrated into a lesson plan simultaneously. Which curriculum I have read that Pearson is trying to sell under the name Pearson Forward in other parts of the country. This, at the same time I have recently been receiving emails from students I had 8, 10, even twenty years ago, telling of work becoming doctors, entering an international baccaulaureate program, and training to become a combination special education and ESOL (my specialty) teacher, among others. They have all thanked me for my unusual approach, which they said has stayed in their memory, and they all ask if I am still using my pet dinosaur Din-Din in the classroom. I am feeling the same demoralization of colleagues who tell me they are feeling the joy and creativity getting sucked out of what they do in the classroom. Yes, there are several wonderful caring administrators and teachers in MCPS, but all is far from well here. To understand this, just listen to a third grade teacher on the verge of tears because she’s afraid she accidentally committed a violation in the complicated administration of a standardized test. Or watch a kindergartner literally trembling with fear as she is asked to read nonsense words on a palm pilot reading skill assessment for which instruction has to be halted for at least a week at a time three times a year. These are among my grim experiences over the past decade.
I originally entered this profession because it was something I could do with a clear conscience, but what I am expected to do in recent years often leaves me feeling very troubled, that I may very well be doing more harm than good. Am presently considering an early retirement that back in the mid nineties I would not have imagined.
Dr. Ravitch, thank you so much for your courageous documentation of what has been happening to public schools nationally. Reading your work has been a source of great comfort both for me and for other colleagues whose attention I have drawn to your blog, your previous dialogue in Education Weekly, and your book. But please understand that for me and several of my colleagues, both veterans and newcomers, all is far from idyllic in Montgomery County, Maryland.
Where is the community response? In 2008 Maryland was voted one of the top five state school systems in the nation, along with Virginia. Montgomery County Public Schools have been rolling out the new Curriculum 2.0 and as we have heard over and over, "the goal is proficiency." Another name for proficiency is competence. Compare that with other schools systems whose goals include excellence (which we have always been told to strive for). Our teachers are working harder than ever, with less support in the class room. And now so many decisions have been made that include no more honors, no more recognition for acceleration or advanced abilities, no more rewards or reasons for our kids to strive....the goal is proficiency. While the completely different curriculum may end up being a challenge for some, there is no concrete plan to address the needs and abilities of students who learn quickly and at an accelerated pace and who would benefit from regular advanced instruction. If a student demonstrates proficiency on a topic, where is the commitment of our school system to provide for those children beyond the common core? who would benefit from more in-depth critical thinking ? The Montgomery County Public Schools website answers this question by saying the curriculum itself is enriched and advanced. This is a non-answer. There may be many reasons that are given for the new curriculum. But advanced and accelerated learners are by definition being ignored. It is not the fault of our teachers. With the new curriculum they are not given the tools they need to both serve and move the majority towards proficiency and address the needs of advanced students. We demand more from Montgomery County. If we as parents do not take action, I wonder if in 2013 we will still be considered one of the top five state school systems in the nation.
ReplyDeleteOne answer that MCPS has not given is that this is the Pearson (private, for-profit) curriculum. We aren't hearing much from the community about that either.
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