7000 teens per day drop out of school. Wow! That’s 365 x 7000 = 2,555,000 teens per year. Two million five hundred fifty-five thousand teens per year. That’s approximately 4 times the population of Louisville. I just can’t get over these numbers, even though after researching I discovered that these percentages have been decreasing over the years since the 1970s.
Basically, this chapter states that in order to close the achievement gap it is important that we motivate and engage students, but in order to do this we need to connect to students as individuals, find meaningful ways to make content real, use tools such as the Thinking Maps to identify patterns and relationships in student thinking, and provide ways for students to express their abilities and feel confident in what they know and what they learn.
Ch. 17 is well placed because the ideas from chapter 16 lead us to the realities of the classroom, and, unfortunately, present day assessment is the reality of what teachers face in the classroom. I completely relate with the teacher who left the note. Teachers are constantly bombarded with data from the school, district, professional journals, university classrooms, newspapers, etc., that are all conflicting. Somehow we are expected to trudge through the mire and make sense of it all, then devise the best teaching strategies that will ultimately fulfill everyone’s expectations. Just think, all of these professionals can’t agree on and then implement best strategies in the schools, but teachers are expected to synthesize, develop, and then carry out best practices for students.
I can say this, I have tried both ways. I have tried teaching for literacy and it feels right. I have made connections with students, taught from the text, devised my own lessons when necessary, expanded and given projects when it feels right to do so because I feel that students would benefit from the investgation and/or extension, and so much more. I have learned from this class (EDTP 620) and this book that there is so much more I can do as a teacher (such as math literature sessions, picture books, vocabulary building through concept circles and other types of Thinking Maps, and meaningful technology).
I have also been guilty of preparing students for the test. The district provides the school with math modules. We are told that we must find a way to integrate these test questions in our lessons. This practice usually begins about six weeks before CATS. It takes away from lively discussion and meaningful lessons. It is DULL!!! I get to the point that I am bored and then I say, “ENOUGH!” not to the school but to myself. I give up the modules long before the big test. Then I start feeling bad, thinking, “Am I doing right by my students? What if they don’t do well?” I hate this time of year. Everyone is at an all time low, frantic and stressed. It really is a roller coaster ride.
