Technology Blues

I just got back from an exciting three day conference on technology in the classroom. I do have a Master’s in Curriculum and Instruction with a focus on Technology in the classroom, so I geeked out.  It is called the CUE (Computer Using Educator) conference in Palm Springs.  It had been about 8 years or so since I went the last time.   Something of note: Every teacher needs an IPad.  At least, that is what the conference is telling me.  Everywhere I looked there was the Apple emblem and most of the classes were about how to use your IPad in your classroom.  I do not have an IPad, so I felt a little like a third wheel on a date with the teachers with IPads. 

When I first started teaching, I remember Superintendent Dr. Bud Reams telling me that the school I was going to teach in would have a TV, VCR, and a set of computers.  I was so excited about the possibilities of teaching my students using these wonderful tools.  5 years later, I did have a TV, VCR, and a paper weight computer that was totally obsolete.  My district had tried to do things right and bought a bunch of computers from IBM (really IBM, not a clone because they thought clones would not work right), so they spent a bunch of money on these computers that said they were built for education.  These were hunks of junk from day one.  They were 486 (not even DX), ran dos and windows (not 3.1).  At the time Pentium just came out and Windows 3.1 Workgroups was the standard.  I created a 'boot disk' so that mine would actually work most of the time.

The politicians talk about our students being ready for the future, but they cut funding for schools to get the technology.  If the district has the money, they don’t really spend it getting new technology.  In the end, the technology has to be about 5 to 10 years old for the teachers to get it into their classrooms, without spending their own money or writing a grant from outside sources. 

So, who is going to buy me an IPad?  J

Back in the day

You know you have been doing something a long time when you make comments about how much better it was 'back in the day'.  Is it true that everything was better back 18 years ago when I started teaching?  It was definitely different, but I don't know about better.

Today at lunch, we were sitting around talking about the programs CCR and PQR. These programs were to keep schools accountable for their programs and spending of categorical money appropriately.  They were a pain.  We wrote long summaries, collected data and work, and filed a tremendous amount of paperwork to 'prove' that we were doing our jobs.  It was not fun.  The worst part of the whole system was that these files were huge and there wasn't anyone in the world that would go through them all and check the work.  Why did we go through the effort when no one would bother looking at these files?  We did it for the funding and politicians who tied strings to it.

Today we have NCLB that uses testing data to 'prove' that we are doing our job.  It definitely doesn't take as much work going through the results as those boxes of files we used to keep.  The problem is that a test is not an individual and neither is a bunch of files in boxes. 

True accountability is walking into my classroom and seeing the students and the skills and struggles that they face.  It has always been this way, but for some reason the people trying to hold schools accountable do not want to go to the classroom.  If you want to see how a school is doing, visit and get to know the children, parents, and educators at the school.  

 Get to know the student that is so anxious to leave for Spring break that they are day dreaming during instruction.  This is not just Spring fever; this student finally gets to travel to Colorado to see their father after a year.  Do you blame them?  Do you expect them to do well on Chapter 27?  Time moves on and the stories are infinite.

'Back in the day' we didn't have high stakes testing and NCLB....man those were the good old days!  Remember when George Runner came to Sundown 18 years ago when the school opened and waved at us.  He truly knows my students and can judge what I do in my classroom. :/

What Happened?

The more experience I get as a teacher the more incredulous I become about the misinformation, the culture, and the blame regarding public education.  A lot of fellow teachers get angry, but I find myself wondering, "How did it become like this?"

I remember when I first started teaching and the excitement I held in the prospect of getting my students excited about the unlimited possibilities in learning:  The questions and then the adventure in finding the answers;  The problem solving and the wonderment of how things work;  The discovery of finding new skills and interests.  

Now I wonder how I can push more things into my students brains, so that they can score well on a test.  It has become less about the adventure and more about the task of learning how to remember all of the details that I teach every day.  The students are being programed, not to think, but to regurgitate an answer or a process. 

Like most teachers, I agree that we need standards; I agree that we need to make sure that all students get the same opportunities; I even agree in assessment!  I just don't believe in punishment for a school, teacher, or student doesn't happen to get something like linear equations in fifth grade.  You know what?   The world doesn't end if a 10/11 year old doesn't learn each concept the week we have to teach it. 

You know what is more important?  A student who becomes a good citizen and learns responsibility.  This is something that cannot be seen on a test, or even on a report card, but it is something that will allow a student to be a successful American. 

 Question: Can a person be successful if they don't know slope and y-intercept?