An Open Letter to My Students

Dear Students,

            There is a method to my madness.  Always.  The only validity I need for why I call you up to the front of the class to do your work, that terrifying place where judgment and anxiety collide together, is because I have been in your shoes.  I too was once a teenager who did not understand math.  Nodding along in class, passively taking notes, and praying that the teacher would never call on me described my behavior during math class until the tenth grade.

            See, I always wanted to be a teacher.  For some reason I have always wanted to get up early each morning, go to school, and help others discover and learn new concepts and ideas.  I love the environment of schools and several of my teachers became personal heroes.  But, there was one teacher that changed the way I looked, did, and thought of math.  His name was Mr. Mack, a former military drill sergeant.  And that is exactly how he ran his class.

            In the military, you are thrown from your comfort zone where your only option is to survive.  When I call you up to the front of the class to solve a problem or share your work, I know you are uncomfortable.  I was too.  Yes, you will tell me you do not want to take those five, nerve-wracking steps to the head of the class.  You will try to defy me, you’re afraid of making a mistake.  I was too.  There’s an old saying – no pain, no gain.  It is one many personal trainers believe in and a tactic used by the military in boot camp.  When you go to the front of the room, you want to do well and you’re terrified of failing – it hurts.  But there is much that I want you to gain from it.

            How do you combat that fear when, inevitably, your name is next on my list?  You study.  That’s how I fought back – I studied.  You push yourself to ask questions and complete all assignments so that for those moments when you are told, not asked, to come from the front of the room you can be proud of your achievements.  You can show off to the entire class what you have mastered, take charge, and answer your peers’ questions for a change.  That’s what happened with me.  This is a medal of honor.  Not only have you mastered the academic material, you have also conquered your fears of public speaking.  So the next time you whine and complain about me, or any other teacher, calling you up to the front of the room with the philosophy that this strategy will make you a better, prouder student, just know that we do it because it works: worked for us and will work for you.

            Now, I know that this philosophy does not work for every student and I have to make accommodations, but sticking with the military-style, boot camp image, soldiers help each other.  No man is ever left behind.  And Mr. Mack assured the same thing to my Algebra II class.  I may call you to the board and I know, that you know, not a darn thing.  And that’s okay.  I would never leave you up there stranded, but your comrades will assist you.  At the front, you’ll start by assessing the problem and a classmate could get you started in the right direction.  Maybe you find you can begin the problem and need some assistance getting the numbers and variables untangled somewhere in the middle.  Finally, maybe you’ve made it all the way through the trenches, fixed all of your mistakes and are ready to come home but you can’t find the final answer.  You can turn and look at me for help, but I redirect you to your classmates for saving.  As a troop, you and all of your classmates need to work together and finish the mission presented on the board.  I, your fearless leader, have earned my stripes.  I know the answer, I know how to not make simple the simple mistakes you are fumbling through.  Of what benefit would it be if I never let you learn from your own, personal errors?  Why would I let the class sit idly by and be an audience to an individual tutoring session if I walked you through the problem?  I let your classmates flex their muscles and jump into the action to stay warmed up, reinforcing what they already know, so that they are prepared to serve when called to action later that class period.

            Continuing this train of thought, what was the purpose of Mr. Mack, and now myself, running this math class like a boot camp?  Soldiers go through boot camp to prepare for war.  Boot camp enables them to become fearless men and women of valor that, despite being scared, are filled with courage and faith to fight victoriously through the war by relying on their basic training.  Not every battle may be won.  You may not complete every homework assignment or excel on each test.  The goal is not to win the battle but the war.  You will learn from the battles.  Learn what mistakes were made, how to avoid them, make another plan of action to do better the next time.  Because, unfortunately, there is a war.  A large one.  The school system is designed where I put you through nine months of basic training before you’re called to the media center to be placed in front of your enemy, the End of Course Exam from the country of Common Core.  Your mission is to fight as best as you can in the allotted time, relying on the skills learned in my class, to win the war over this standardized assessment and prove what you can do.       

            My plan of attack as your drill sergeant is to simultaneously teach the math content while eliminating fear from your vocabulary.  If you can solve a problem in front of a classroom filled with your peers, unaffected by the judgment of terrible teenagers and their brutal ways, accurately and confident in your skills and knowledge, then I know you can sit down, stare the enemy in the eye, one on one, and leave that media center the victorious winner of the End of Course Exam war.

            I have been there.  I am a decorated veteran.  Mr. Mack changed my outlook on math.  The fear of being wrong was shattered as he pulled me from the comfort zone of my desk and to the open field of the white board. I was completely transparent.  Everyone was going to know how little I knew about math.  But that was what I needed.  The growing pains this teaching philosophy incurred made me grow stronger.  I ended up being able to think critically and master material that I never thought I could before.  The fear of showing my classmates my abilities drove me to the textbooks each night to refine my skills and forced me to raise my hand in class when I did not understand something.  Fear soon turned to pride as fifteen-year-old Ms. Hoffman no longer dreaded going to the front of the room but was excited to demonstrate what I had mastered.  At the end of the school year, I faced the enemy.  The war was long.  Back-up calculators were needed.  And erasers were lost.  But, never was I afraid.

            To my former students, I never told you, but this is why I “traumatized” you every day.  I may not have made clear the reasons you were called upon abruptly to leave your chairs and head towards the teaching zone.  But this was why.  This teaching strategy was used on me and inspired me to become a math teacher.  If a fumbling math student like myself could be transformed into an academic all-star, then I know you can too.  My use of this method has not been perfect.  This past year, my first year teaching specifically, gave me many opportunities to refine my boot camp teaching style into a training program that worked best for me and for each class period.  Thank you for challenging my classroom management and instructional methods by refusing to come to the front of the room, interrupting a peer in a harsh manner, and making me wonder if how I was teaching was actually beneficial.  Many moments in our classes were teachable moments for both you and me.  I will always value them.

            To my present students, you can thank the troop before you for some of my changed philosophies.  I now know that it is psychologically paralyzing for some students to go to the front of the class as Mr. Mack had myself and my peers do.  When I let you go the board with a partner it is because I have learned the importance of strength in numbers.  Sometimes the company of a friend can help you face your fears head on.   When the board is sectioned off into three different columns it is because I have learned the sedating effect of monotony.  Three of you may be called to the board to demonstrate work you have completed to solve different phases of the same problem.  How much more interesting is it to see how three different students’ work comes together to solve one problem.  Lastly, when I let you come to the board armed with your notes to assist you in public battle of the problem on the board, it is because I have learned the difference between a good soldier and a great solider is how well prepared he is.  When a new concept is introduced, sometimes notes are the guidance needed to help make a new skill an old habit.

            Finally, to my future students, you have no doubt heard the horror stories from Ms. Hoffman’s class.  But, you haven’t heard my stories of the pride and confidence I have seen light up your predecessors’ faces once they have swallowed their fears and embraced the front of the classroom as a privilege, not a punishment.  I am still learning as a teacher and want to try new things.  I will not alter my boot camp inspired teaching style, but I am willing to change some of the battles you face.  I am willing to let you create your own battles – let you design problems around what interests you and letting you pick the classmate to battle it.  Or, I can give you the end result of the fight and let you figure out what the enemy did to end up that way.  Giving you the blank canvas in front of the classroom to learn, grow, and show off your strengths has proven effective, this I will not change.

            Sylvia Aston-Warner was a reading teacher who journaled her experiences teaching young children how to read by walking a mile in their shoes to determine the best methods to teach.  Where as Aston-Warner assumed the position of a five-year-old student to develop personal philosophies that would meet the needs of her young students, my personal philosophies were developed as I actually experienced being a teenager who did not understand math and changing into a student whose mathematical understanding was transformed.

            Like Aston-Warner, we both enjoy a classroom environment in which there is “volcanic energy” from students eager to assist their peers or demonstrate what they know, where the “unpredictability” of “interesting people” helps the entire class to “uncover” the individual strengths and weaknesses represented in the room so that everyone can learn together (p. 48).  Lastly, Aston-Warner and I “like the true form of living, even in school,” where students are encouraged to make mistakes, vocalize their needs, and be challenged rather than well manufactured producers of facts they will never need or remember.

            It is very possible that many of you will leave my class and never use or remember some of the math concepts that were taught in the explicit curriculum provided by the school district.  That is fine.  What I want you to learn is how to productively and effectively overcome your fears and become constructive, critical problem solvers.  This type of curriculum will stay with you, and be used, for your entire life.

                                                            With your best interest in mind,

                                                                                                               Marissa Hoffman

References

Aston-Warner, S. (1963). Teacher.

Cycle Three - Should the Curriculum Address Controversial Issues?

Over the past weeks, the design of a curriculum, its evaluation, and its purpose have been discussed.  This cycle, the simple question, Should curriculum address controversial issues? will be answered just as simply: Yes.  We have learned from Leslie Owen Wilson that the curriculum delivered to students includes the explicit curriculum (what is taught) the null curriculum (what is not taught or ignored) (Wilson, 2015).  By removing controversial issues such as homosexuality, STDs, and causes for bullying, students learn that these issues are not important enough to be brought into the classroom.  If a school is to adequately prepare students to be a contributive member of society, the schools must discuss the all issues that society faces.  For example, let’s look at the students attending Crane High School in West Texas.  The superintendent of Crane Independence School District supported an abstinence only sex education curriculum because “if kids are not having any sexual activity, they can’t get [STDs]…That’s not a bad program.”  When the average age of the beginning of sexual activity is 16 (Silin, 1997) it is clear that the Crane Independent School District needs to reflect on the validity of their sex education program.  Why “taboo” topics should be taught in school is simple enough to understand, but the major concern is how these subjects are covered.

            As with all things, discussing controversial topics in all schools needs to be done with sensitivity towards the subject and the audience.  An example of how not to teach controversial subjects is provided by the Gaia Democratic School.  Depending on the maturity of the student, “explicit language” may be overwhelming (Eckholm, 2010, p. 2).  With that being said, it is important that parents are informed regarding what is being discussed and how.  As the guardian, it is the parents’ job to determine if he or she would like her child learning about sensitive subjects in the school environment.  If the parent decides the child is not ready for this, the parent should have the option to have her child removed when the contentious material is discussed – without consequence. 

The issue of audience was frequently discussed in Erik Eckholm’s article.  The issue presented in this article was having teachers instruct their students, of all ages, on the causes of bullying in order to bring awareness to the issue.  While controversial subjects need to be taught, knowing the maturity level of the students is key.  Tammi Shulz, the parent of a five year old, did not want homosexuality taught to her daughter because of her young age (2010).  Knowing the audience for this controversial curriculum would mean that kindergarten aged students, such as Shulz’s daughter, could learn about homosexuality on their terms, such as some people have two mommies, some have two daddies, but anything that goes in depth regarding the details of homosexuality would be inappropriate for this age group.

A large part of knowing the audience is making sure that the content being taught is appropriate for their maturity level, but also of interest to the students.  In previous cycles in this course, we have learned that a curriculum should be one that students are interested in so that they are motivated to learn.  Why not let students ask their own questions to learn more about certain material that personally affects them.  A great method my school uses when introducing a new topic is Chalk Talk.  The teacher places the topic on the board and students are to write all around the topic what they know about it – the fun part is that students are not allowed to talk to each other while doing so, the “chalk” is suppose to do the talking.  Imagine a second grade class where the students are to learn about HIV/AIDS.  Some students may know a lot about the virus, others may have never heard about it.  Using the Chalk Talk method above, the teacher can gain insight into how much her class knows direct her instruction to meet the students’ interest level (as well as maturity level).  When given the chance to direct their own education, the initiative taken by some students will is surprising.  Students can learn more from their peers, as did students in Albuquerque Public Schools with their student-led anti-bullying campaign.

As Jami Coffman mentioned in the news segment above teaching frequently debated subjects is just one more things for teachers to do.  To avoid piling more onto teachers’ overloaded plates, could controversial subjects be taught within the context of another subject?  The example provided by Thorton sums up this concept.  In American History, the heroin Jane Addams is discussed.  Although she never came out as gay, evidence shows that she lived a single life, surrounded by other women all working towards the goal of women’s rights.  Homosexuality may not be explicitly taught here, but within the context of American History, students can study the effects of homosexuality.  What kind of life did Jane Addams, or another openly gay public figure, have?  Was his career affected?  What were social views during that time period (2004)?  How about math?  A math teacher could have students analyze trends and correlations in HIV/AIDS infection rates in urban and rural areas.  Success rates of rehabilitation for individuals addicted to drugs depending on if it was a government or private rehabilitation program could be investigated.

Controversial topics should be addressed in schools in order for students to be well-informed, productive members of society.  Why these subjects should be covered in schools are fairly obvious, although parents do have a right to remove their children from these classes if necessary.  The more pertinent question that teachers and school districts need to consider is how these concepts are addressed so that students are well-informed about all aspects of the world around them.

References

Eckholm, E. (2010, November 6).  In school efforts to end bullying, some see agenda. The New York Times.

Silin, J. (1997).  Hiv/aids education: Towards a collaborative curriculum. The Curriculum Studies Reader, 245-263.

Thorton, S. J. (2004).  Silence on gays and lesbians in social studies curriculum. The Curriculum Studies Reader, 362-367.

Wilson, L. O. (2015). The second principle. Retrieved from http://thesecondprinciple.com/instructional-design/types-of-curriculum/ 

Cycle Two - How Should Curriculum be Created and Evaluated?

How Should Curriculum Be Created?

            “…students want to know just what it is they need to do to earn a particular grade” (Eisner, 2001, p. 330) are the kind of educational experiences today’s students are having.  Modern day classes can’t be considered an authentic educational experience - rather a situation. Secondary students pass through seven classrooms, five days a week, and are told information they need to know in order to pass a test.  If a teacher attempts to have students explore the material they need to learn in order to pass a high-stakes assessment, time constraints often force her adhere to time-efficient, but academically less-effective, lectures for the sake of covering the material the students will see on the test.  “Schools have become a place to mass produce this product” (p. 330) of extremely well, but not so successful, test-takers where no child is left behind. 

            Throw away your pre-conceptions about education and that a student’s job is to answer questions.  Instead of the teachers asking the questions politicians think students should be asked, let students ask their own questions.  Eisner mentioned the rising trend in students, including doctoral candidates, of not being able to formulate in depth, critical thinking questions (2001).  This side effect can be traced back to the K-12 school days where students have no longer been allowed to ask questions - only answer.

            So what kind of questions would students ask that teachers could design a curriculum around?  Speaking from a high school math teacher point of view: How about how to do taxes? How to create and stick to a budget?  How do I buy a car?  Ralph Tyler suggested that the problems student solve, or in this instance – ask, should “arise in real life” (1949, p. 69). 

How often have you found yourself starring at a blank tax form and thinking, “Why was I never taught this in school?”

            Those on the side of textbook-driven curriculums and standardized tests might argue that students may not learn “real math” (the intricate formulas and messy equations seen in example after example in the textbook lessons) if not from a textbook.  And, that’s true.  Students may not get to memorize these equations, but how much more real math can a student learn when discovering how interest compounds on his mortgage or how his car value depreciates?  Rather than forcing students to answer questions about these types of functions, a curriculum should have students ask their own questions about these exponential functions they encounter day to day without even realizing it. 

            Take a look at the comments a few high schoolers made regarding how standardized testing makes them feel.  It’s time for the political standard-setters to start asking a few questions too.  Is this really how we want our students, the future of America, to relate to school and earning an education?

How Should Curriculum’s Success Be Evaluated?

            A present and pressing issue that demonstrates the unreliable method of evaluating a curriculum can be seen by the spectacle that is the state of Texas.  When examining Texas’ issue of creating new American History standards for their students to learn these opinionated issues seem minor compared to the people writing, examining, and implementing these standards – individuals who are far removed from the field of education (Shorto, 2010).  Why are dentists deciding what our children should learn in American History when the dentist himself was in an American History class possibly a decade ago?  To further this conundrum, now the College Board is adjusting their standards and frame work for their Advanced Placement United States History exam to please public opinion that was against the current objectives.  How can a curriculum such as this be evaluated effectively if the curriculum itself can change as soon as someone important does not like it?

            Although curriculums can be changed as fast as legislatures can vote, “changes in ways of thinking…develop slowly” (Tyler, 1949, p. 83).  How can the Board of Education in Texas and the College Board expect students to block out George Washington as a great American hero, one day, and the next his name is wiped from the textbook pages because parents aren’t happy that their children are learning about a former slave owner?

            Standardized testing may be the most efficient way to assess students’ retention of what they have learned in school, but it is not the most effective.  If a student must meet certain learning objectives, and the way to learn an objective is through behavioral experience, and the behavior must be practiced in order to master the objective, then why shouldn’t the student’s practice and then mastery, over a period of time, be a sufficient way of evaluating a curriculum (1949)?   While cleaning out one of my mom’s closets, she and I stumbled upon an old writing portfolio from my kindergarten days when I was just starting to master the construction of sentences.  The portfolio showed a transformation over time of my large, disconnected letters refining into smoother, clearly defined words.  My sentences may have been missing a few prepositions and punctuation marks, but any one could confidentially say I had improved my writing skills over those 9 months.

            Here I am suggesting the use of portfolios as evidence for a student’s improvement in a class over a set period of time, in every class, so as to not discredit any subject area, as a way to evaluate a school’s curriculum to show growth over time.  However, curriculum evaluation doesn’t have to be a portfolio, and this collection of works doesn’t have to be examined every single year.  But, the current system of standardized testing as the determining factor of a student’s success is only  a snapshot of what a students is capable of doing and is destroying our children - take a look.

References

Eisner, E. W. (2001). What does it mean to say a school is doing well. The Phi Delta Kappan, 82(5). Retrieved from http://gse.buffalo.edu/fas/yerrick/ubscience/UB_Science_Education_Goes_to_School/21C_Literature_files/Eisner,%202001.pdf

Shorto, R. (2010, February 11). How Christian were the founders? New York Times Magazine.  Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/14/magazine/14texbooks-t.html

Tyler, R. W. (1949). Basic principles of curriculum and instruction. Chicago, IL: The University of Chicago Press

Cycle One - What is Curriculum? Purpose and Relationship

Curriculum is everything a student experiences as he or she goes through school.  Curriculum refers to the standards that are taught, the material that is left out, and the media a child is exposed to (Wilson, 2014).  But, how does an instructor determine what the curriculum should teach at school?

There are four curriculum traditions presented by William Schubert.  Each curriculum, although important, does not serve to educate a student on its own. Let’s combine the Intellectual Traditionalist and Social Behaviorist curriculums.  Students can be taught the classics that have stood the test of time and then use scientific investigation to explore modern advances.  The educational gaps appear to be filled.

But will this work for every child?  Dewey suggests education should be of interest to children, something that is useful for them (Dewey, 1923).  This does not mean that everything a student will encounter in school will be fun, but the education that children receive should motivate them to learn.  One of the goals of the curriculum presented in schools should encourage students to be life-long learners rather than good test takers.

Ken Robinson has summed up in eleven minutes and twenty seconds what many educators have been struggling with for decades.  Education nowadays is a manufacturing race.  How many standards can we train students to meet within a particular timeframe?  Test them on these standards periodically.  If the product is good then the students are packed up and shipped off to a university and expected to benefit society and the economy (Robinson, 2010).  How can this mass production of “educated students” be beneficial to the nation’s greatest resource that are our kids?

I urge you to watch this spoken word poem by Suli Breaks in which he declares the contradictory nature and harm the importance of test scores are having on students. 

There is a disconnect between what is happening in the classroom and how learning is assessed.  For example, why are we having students work in cooperative groups when they are going to be tested individually?  With Common Core, the standardization issue is exacerbated.  In Florida, I am no longer compared to my peers in Tallahassee. Now, I also must know exactly what those in Oregon are learning in their geometry class.  And, all students need to prove this knowledge on a test.

How is this fair?  Take a look at Billy Flood.  Although living with a learning disability, is it fair to say that he is not smart because he can’t pass the same test a boy his same age, without a learning disability, can?  To me this is comparing apples and oranges.  A standardized curriculum tries to level the playing field regarding what the students are taught and the kind of exam they take, but it doesn’t eliminate factors such as abilities, disabilities or home life. 

I struggled with this with my Algebra 1 students this year.  I was faced with the new Common Core (take a look at the shifts in standards my school district expects our students to master in one year) curriculum that expected students to think abstractly about mathematical concepts – something these students were never asked to do before – and all students were suppose to be proficient at the new skills by the end of April. Any hope of the majority of my students passing the Algebra 1 End of Course exam flew out the window when one looked at me and said, “I don’t understand negative numbers.”  Here she was 15 years old, a high school freshmen, and she did not have the math skills a sixth grader was suppose to master.  The majority of the class agreed. 

 So what was the purpose of the new curriculum I was supposed to teach my students?  If I sided with the standards I would spend the entire school year reinforcing to my students the fact that they lacked even the most basic skills.  I did not want to support the notions that math was impossible and that my students could never understand what math was all about.  So I did what I thought was best.  I met the state and my students halfway.  I found materials that supported the algebraic concepts my students were to learn in a way that made it possible for them to succeed in my class.  Not all of my students passed the End of Course exam, and that was okay, because learning did take place in my class. 

Some may ask why teach math?  What is the purpose of students even learning Algebra 1?  I tell my students that no, they will not explicitly use Algebra 1 after high school unless they become a math teacher.  To motivate them, my mantra is:  1) Do well in this class in order to pass the Algebra 1 End of Course exam because it is a graduation requirement.  2) Do well in this class to pass it and earn one of your math credits towards graduation.  3) Algebra 1 will help you learn critical thinking, problem-solving skills that you will use every day in real life.

 The third point is the goal of math, school, and any curriculum.  The curriculum we pass on to our students should equip them with the problem-solving skills they need to be a successful member of society.  If any part of the curriculum makes a student feel like they are not good enough, then the curriculum is not benefitting that student or the community as a whole.

References

Dewey, J. (1932). The school and society: The child and the curriculum.

Robinson, K. (2010, October). Ken Robinson: Changing education paradigms. [Video file]. Retrieved from http://www.ted.com/talks/ken_robinson_changing_education_paradigms

Schubert, W.H. (1996). Perspectives on Four Curriculum Traditions. Horizons, pages 169-176.

Wilson, L. O. (2015). The second principle. Retrieved from http://thesecondprinciple.com/instructional-design/types-of-curriculum/