Teacher Flexibility

Teacher Flexibility

I read with shock and dismay that Arizona’s legislature is contemplating a bill that would require teachers to plan and post lessons a year in advance. Not only is this unreasonable and unrealistic, it’s also bad for students.

 

This year we have  all pivoted and adjusted to meet the needs of our students and the constraints of virtual learning.  While this year was an extreme example, every year great teachers start the year with a plan in the form of a pacing guide, syllabus, and standards and throughout the year they make modifications. Subtle adjustments are made on the fly. Lessons are revamped, and sometimes it’s a massive overhaul. We make changes to meet the needs of our students.

 

For me, meeting the needs of each student is what makes teaching challenging and rewarding.

 

My high school education was a “classical” education. The school’s English curriculum required us to memorize poetry (30 lines as a freshman, 40 lines as sophomore, 50 as a junior…) After failing this assignment as a freshman,  I committed myself to memorizing my 40 lines as a sophomore. However, as the presentation date loomed, I knew I was going to fail--again. Despite choosing 2 shorter poems, I could only memorize about 20 lines--a far cry from the required 40. On the night of my presentation (I went to a boarding school and we had 2 hours of study hall every night, so I went over to  the dorm where Ms. Pala was a dorm parent), I broke down after reciting only a couple of lines. I doubt Ms. Pala  believed me when I sniffled, “I’ve been working for months to memorize these lines. I just can’t do it.”

 

Regardless of whether she believed me or not, she offered me a second chance and promised to work with me. Once a week I visited her only to see my frustration grow and my self-esteem plummet as I still  couldn’t get by 20 lines. She persisted. “Let’s try something besides poems.”  Knowing I liked sports and history, “How about the preamble to the Constitution?” “Maybe famous speeches?” “What about Lou Gehrig’s speech?”

 

Ms. Pala was committed to doing whatever it took. She made instructional adjustments and modified the curriculum to meet my needs. She was committed to doing whatever it took. As Carol Tomlinson suggests,  "Teachers in a differentiated classroom accept, embrace, and plan for the fact that learners bring to the school both many commonalities and the essential differences that make them individuals. Differentiated classrooms embody common sense. The logical flow in a differentiated classroom is this: A nurturing environment encourages learning."

 

As educators, we are committed to ensure each student’s mastery of learning, whether this is of a concept, an academic skill, or a behavior. This commitment and passion is most important for our most vulnerable students. While it’s possible to pre-plan scaffolded supports and modifications, each student and each class present a unique set of challenges that require adjustments to personalize learning. A nurturing classroom requires differentiation. For this reason alone, asking teachers to present their lessons before they meet their students is pedagogical malfeasance.

 

PS Despite her best efforts, I never memorized 40 lines. Seeing my struggles, Ms. Pala modified her grading so that my failure on this learning task didn’t sabotage my overall grade. She also referred me to the learning center and within a couple of months, I was identified as having a specific learning disability that at least partially explained my inability to memorize poetry. And, it’s not just limited to poetry, I struggle to memorize dates, phone numbers, speeches, etc.

 

Tasks and Information

Parent-teacher conferences are 3/24 (5-8 pm) and 3/30 (5-8pm)

 

Register for March 26 Glenn Singleton by clicking this link https://k12albemarle.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_NLaUIT8gQ7qyrZ1fQSCurA

 

Complete faculty meeting nearpod by Thursday https://share.nearpod.com/vsph/e5I5hStVMu. It’s also linked in Schoology.  

 

Please review this room/phone number/voicemail spreadsheet to ensure it is accurate. Please let Diane know of any changes.

 

March 24-25 Student/Staff Pictures, please review this document and see attached

 

Spirit Week Calendar

 

Links

https://bit.ly/WAHSannounce to request an announcement, publication in newsletter, etc

 

https://bit.ly/TWCStuRec TWC student recognition

 

http://bit.ly/MeetStudentWA  Meeting with student

 

bit.ly/WAlunch Lunch order

Birthdays

March 25: Sarah Terrill

Worth Your Time

Virtual engagement isn’t impossible

 

Hybrid Learning

Tips for social distanced classrooms/hybrid learning

Blended learning: strategies for engagement

Effective instructional models for a hybrid schedule

Hybrid/blended teaching strategies

Flip flop design for hybrid learning 

More teachers are asked to double up, instructing kids at school and at home simultaneously 

Simple hacks to improve online assessment

Guidelines for increasing air ventilation in classrooms 

 

Stage 4 Checklist and Information


Staff Daily Bulletin 


Monday - Thursday checklist


Stage 4 Instruction

Suggestions rom Stage 4 Roundtable 


Stage 4 Instructional Models/Frameworks


Tips for stage 4 learning 


Stage 4 Document : Logistics

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

We cannot be perfect, great, or even above average

Image
We cannot be perfect, great, or even above average As an administrator during these times, I struggle to find the balance between being positive and overdoing it to the point of being positively toxic. In an  article about toxic positivity, psychiatrist Gayani DeSilva described toxic positivity "as insincere positivity that leads to harm, needless suffering or misunderstanding." Personally, I know since March there was a month or two where I slammed the door on negative emotions, ignoring how I really felt. But I also wonder, "As an education leader, have I spread toxic positivity?" During my fifth and sixth years of teaching, the teaching environment was awful.  Our principal was like a ping pong ball, caught in an acrimonious and untenable relationship between district administrators and teachers. On multiple occasions he told us, "be glad you have a job."  He meant well. He encouraged us to work hard but to also take time for themselves. Unfortunately, ...
Read more

Understanding my White Privilege: 10 Lessons Learned and A More Productive View of Assessment

  Understanding   my   white   privilege:  10   lessons   learned   I am a white male who explores racial issues from an intellectual perspective. For me understanding racism and whiteness is often something I examine for a period of time--when discussing anti-racism, for example--and then I move on. It is not central to my day-to-day life or my survival. My whiteness is often invisible. To grow up and exist as a white person, race is usually about somebody else. Each us is always a member of a race or races and we are often granted or denied opportunities because we belong to one of the favored groups. My whiteness has come--and will continue to afford--me advantages that are not shared by many people of color. For most of my life--and I grew up in a very diverse neighborhood--I did not see race; I saw racism as an individual act by one person or group against another person or group. I was blind to the invisible systems that ensure racial domina...
Read more

Teacher Expecations and Student-Teacher Interactions

  Teacher Expectations and Student-Teacher Interactions In reading a little this past week, I stumbled upon a reference to an article by Thomas L. Good on teacher expectations and treatment of students. It caught my attention and caused me to reflect. Good found that when students are not achieving well, teachers tend to treat them differently. The research found that low-achieving students: Are criticized more often for failure Are raised less frequently Receive less feedback Are called on less often Have less eye contact from the teacher Have fewer friendly interactions with the teacher Experiences acceptance of their ideas less often I immediately reflected on my teaching. I’m willing to bet that subconsciously I minimized interactions with at least some of my disengaged students, which, in turn, only exasperated the problem. Conversely, I’m willing to bet that I was more engaged and interactive with high-flyers. What are some ways you combat such behaviors? Knowing the power of...
Read more