That classroom looks familiar to most of us -- it is probably what we had. I think my desks were different, we had tables in one room, but overall, that was the classroom. Not that it is the classroom that is the issue - my issue is when I was asked to complete worksheet after worksheet - and that counted as learning! Ask me what one of those worksheets was about - I dare you! (Seriously, unless my Mom has some at her house in a box - I don't have a clue!) I was a good student - 11th in my class, if I recall correctly, so I'm sure I had messages on them about "Good Work" and all the smaller canned answers.
I do remember some bigger projects: making a movie of the Mafia / Elliot Ness and Prohibition, Trading stocks (using an old fashioned thing called a newspaper!) and charting it daily to see who ended up with the most money at the end of the month, purifying water in Science class, almost having a fire break out in another Science class, working all hours on Math, and giving presentations on books I've read for Individual Guided Reading class.
I'm NOT saying my teachers were horrible - I still remember the lessons that I've gotten from each one of them. I learned about perseverance and forging ahead - when it doesn't look like you'll ever understand this concept called Algebra (We had a joke - "There's the right way to do Math, then there's the Mielke Way" - it took until college when the light bulb went off and Algebra made sense.), but I had a teacher who worked with me before and after school going over the concepts.
One of my most stern / procedural driven teachers, who taught most of the Science classes, scared the bejesus out of us -- we didn't even want to yawn in his class! Yet, looking back, he let us know that we could do it - and that he expected us to do it even when we didn't think it was possible. Had he lowered expectations, we would have just met those.
I've loved History from the time I was in Elementary School - and several of my High School History teachers helped foster that. We did papers, we did projects, but for the most part, we did A LOT of word searches and fill-in-the-blank worksheets. (Which weren't what I remembered!)
Another teacher called us "ditch diggers" and that would be all we amounted to. I waited until graduation and that teacher being around the Principal before asking if I was still a ditch digger.... the look and backpedaling that went on priceless - plus, it taught me to never assume because someone doesn't get a concept, that they cannot be good at something else.
I went into Agricultural Education because of my Ag. Ed. teachers - they made class interesting, hands-on, and relevant to me (since I lived on a farm). I learned about life being involved in FFA - traveling, meeting all kinds of people, being involved in State FFA procedural groups, etc. It wasn't just the grades that were driving me - it was the experiences along the way!
While there are more examples, (even from College) these experiences made me who I am - and led me down the path to teaching Middle School out here in South Dakota. Note, I ended up with a degree in History - not Agricultural Education - perhaps a story for another post.
So, where does this leave me with the title of this blog: simple, yet not!
When is the last time, as an adult, someone gave you a worksheet and said, "Do this and you'll get an A."?
I can think of filling out tax paperwork, and some forms for work as a teacher, but they didn't lead to an A - it was just part of the process to complete to the bigger project. If I want to avoid issues for paying taxes, I complete the tax form. If I want to be prepared for reviews and workshops, I do the paperwork. Those big experiences are what I learn more from, not just the filling out of the forms.
Students need to be challenged - in their thinking and expanding their world. Sure, there needs to be some paperwork along the way: this should not become the END all of the grade. These worksheets / check-ins should just be a marker. They shouldn't need to be necessarily graded all the time (contrary to what some people think). I tend to think of this like a sports practice - you get feedback and adjust to the recommendations of the coach before going to the big game.
Life is messy - this past year, I helped students understand the issues going on in Ukraine - but we didn't just look at the Geography, History, Math, or Language Arts component of the situation- it all ties together. I want them to have the thinking ability to look at the bigger picture, break things apart a bit, analyze and then draw conclusions on what should / shouldn't happen. The real question: when do you stop and go "Here's an A for the grade-book?" before they have a class discussion on the topic.
Now, if they don't have anything for a class discussion / project, even when they have met and prepared, how should that be graded? It's an ongoing debate - a 0? 50%? (This is where a rubric comes in handy!)
A classroom should be PREPARING students for the world, letting them develop their thinking skills, and yes, even letting them fail / make mistakes along the way. Without the ability to make mistakes / have failure, and have guidance through the process of LEARNING from the FAILURE, we risk their first educational MISSTEAK (see what I did there:) ) being at college - when there may not be a support structure in place to help them learn from it.
This photo is a good visual representation of what I see as life: compartmentalized, yet intermixing to create something unique for each of us!
I'd love to hear other's thoughts on this topic!
