After years of having a consistent online presence, I’m continuing to come to terms with my lack of blogging and other writing/sharing in the school year just past. But I think I can say that my muted voice is in part the result of a ever-increasing focus in my school district — and I think in many districts across the country — on the all-important high stakes tests, and the strict curriculum controls and direct-instruction mandates that have grown up around the national “accountability” movement.
In earlier years, so much of my blogging was motivated by what was happening in my classroom, and the classrooms of others we were collaborating with. As students and teachers continued to develop this new pedagogy built around active learning and online connecting, the excitement never stopped building. Collectively we felt part of a powerful community that was onto something very special.
The way it was
Teachers who were caught up in this excitement moved even further from the “sage on the stage” kind of teaching and learning to becoming what could be described more as “co-learners” or maybe “learners-in-chief.” As teachers we were still in charge, to keep things running smoothly and offer our guidance as needed. Sometimes it became apparent, through observation or other assessment, that a lesson was needed on a concept or skill, either with a small group or the whole class. But we were always modeling learning ourselves.
Learning this way involved every subject. Students were more self motivated to do quality work because the work was more creative and closer to their own interests — and it was usually published online for all to see. So it had better be good. Direct instruction was not (and never will be) abandoned, we just created many more opportunities for students to build knowledge, use and share what they knew, and tap much more deeply into their curiosity and creativity.
The way it has become
The enthusiasm that grew out of these new adventures in teaching and learning has eked away over the past several years. A few things that happened in my classroom in 2011-12 brought this into focus for me.
One is that we were involved in a project we mostly had to “sneak in” under the radar, around the required programs and policies. As we worked together on our Point of View Writing Project, I saw the magic again.
My students collaborated using Skype and Google Docs to write non-fiction pieces with a class across the country. Their excitement, focus and requests to work extra outside of school on their research reminded me what we had been onto back a few years ago. We didn’t have this new pedagogy down to perfection then, but we were well on our way, and with some support from leadership we would be even closer to being there now (not that you would ever get to perfection, mind you).
Skills that we’ve lost
Here’s something else that happened this past school year that reveals something we’ve lost in the way of skills-teaching. My students became excited about several topics through their reading about a subject or a current event, and (surprise, surprise) they wanted to learn more about them. In the fairly recent past, because we took the time to learn to do internet research in focused and safe ways, those self guided learning opportunities would have been embraced. But because we have done almost none of that kind of work this year, AND because (thankfully) my school district leaves the web pretty wide open, I have not felt safe letting them do searches for information, photos and video when there has been even a smidge of time to do so, unless I was available to very closely monitor them.
In the recent past, part of using these powerful learning tools has involved lessons and projects in their safe and ethical use. There is no time or real support to do that now. You wouldn’t set your class loose in woodshop without teaching them safe use of the power tools. And I’m not going to set them loose on the Internet without the necessary skills and understanding. I’d be setting my students, parents, my school, my school district and myself up for a load of problems.
There’s just not much to share
The upshot of all this is that I have few examples or experiences to share from my classroom this year. There’s an almost total lack of autonomy. It’s been replaced by a daily schedule designed by my administration that only includes reading, writing and math. And most of this must be taught with prescribed programs or with the inclusion of specific direct instruction pieces that MUST be included and literally leave no time for anything that encouraging curiosity or sparks creativity.
I’ve managed to squeeze just a few things in here or there, but “squeezing in” means things are not done comprehensively and there is no time for students to learn from mistakes, redesign, or even just re-edit well. This is how we improve and how we make learning stick. But this is not what we’re doing in our classrooms under these kinds of restrictions. I have to work hard to keep an enthusiastic face on things and my students aren’t developing as deep an appreciation and enthusiasm for learning.
And it’s not just me or my district
The worst news is that I’m hearing a similar story from other teachers I used to collaborate with often, and from others in my Personal Learning Network who work with teachers in many locations. I have refrained from sharing this woeful tale during the year beyond a few tweets, because I hoped to find ways to overcome the restraints and did not want to discourage others by my experience. I’m reporting out now because we need to get these stories out there. I would say even more, but don’t feel safe in doing so in a public space.
Things are not all lost however. I’m optimistic that they can change. We did blog some and worked on a project. I have learned some effective direct instruction pieces I will use in the future. Most of all I’ve learned that this new pedagogy that many of us have undertaken really works, and not being able to access it much has been a real detriment.
Perhaps the powers-that-be will wake up to what we’re saying. I keep hearing that the pendulum is past due to swing back towards teacher autonomy and less testing and test-prep pedagogy. I keep hearing (but I’m not totally convinced yet) that the move to Common Core standards implementation will drive us back that way as well. Perhaps. We’ll see.
I’ve taken a new position in my school district at the middle school level that could very well put my students and I back on track. I look forward in the coming year to being a strong voice from and for the learning revolution!
Brian Crosby
Latest posts by Brian Crosby (see all)
- Sharing Real-World Projects Sharpens the Literacy Skills of Connected Students - October 24, 2013
- Going Deep: STEM in the Connected Classroom - March 15, 2013
- My Voice for Change: Muted, But Not Silenced - July 6, 2012
Brian, thanks for sharing this piece. It’s disheartening to hear you lost some of your autonomy as a teacher due to administrative mandates, but I’m glad that you’ve pursued another position. I hope the change brings exciting new opportunities for you and your students!
Hi Lyn – Yes it was quite a change to have to undertake … like going back in time 10 years and having to do the mundane parts with great fervor. And thanks, I am looking forward to my new position!
Brian – I will be working a lot in the middle school in my district this year in my new position and I am excited to see what you share! Best wishes in the new role!
Thanks Patrick – I’ve been promised a fair amount of autonomy so it will be interesting to see what we come up with! Good luck with your new endeavor as well!
Brian, I am doing the same thing and restarting my blog after a horrendous year. I was quiet because I did not want to cause problems during the change. I now realize I was wrong. We have to speak out or bad things will happen to our students. Keep this up. I will be avidly watching what you do.
I know from hearing from others that I (and you) am certainly not the only one dealing with this “reform” mess. Glad to hear you are back to blogging as well.
Brian, thank you so much for your honesty and sharing your frustration. 3 years ago, I left a district position to go back to the classroom. I missed kids. However, within the first year, I realized how little autonomy I had. Even in a Music classroom with no pressure of testing, the reins were tightening on standards and eventual district standardized testing. My colleagues in the classrooms were worn out, defeated, and uninspired. Those who still brought optimism into the classroom still had their hands tied in so many areas.
Luckily for me, I was in a place in my life where I could cut out. I just couldn’t stay in a place where I knew the best interests of children weren’t being met. I only bring up this point because so many people CANNOT do what I did… and how do we all stand up for them? How can we un-mute our voices without fear of reprisal and work to make our schools better for kids? How do we return autonomy to teachers and provide meaningful learning opportunities for kids?
I’m working in my dream school now. It’s a private school, but the model will work in public schools. In addition to my responsibilities to my students, one of my goals is to continue to advocate for public education and to be the voice that refuses to be muted.
I’m happy that you have a new adventure in front of you. 🙂 Keep up the good fight for yourself, your colleagues, and most importantly, the kids you serve.
Brian,this post says a lot about how I felt my last school year went. The pressures placed on teachers to “teach to the test” makes it so hard to do the kinds of in-class projects that so many of us would like to do with our students, but under our careful guidance so as to teach them proper online behavior and safety. These are hugely important skills in today’s world, but are not addressed in what we are given to “teach” our students. I too just try to sneak in as much as I can between my mandated lessons, which often means I don’t feel I do a complete job of it.
I am struggling with how to continue having my students blogging and collaborating with others in the coming year. I still have time to try and figure out how I will put all of the pieces together, so that I will arrive at the end of next year feeling better about what took place in my classroom during the year.
Congratulations and good luck with your new position. Keep on blazing the trail.
Hi Brian,
I wish you well in your new position! I know just how you feel!I wrote this post after one, of another, of those disappointing days where I was overwhelmed with what I HAD to do. I am on year 28, and I will continue to “sneak in” all the wonderful things I do with my class, AND have them pass those darn tests!:)
“I Just Want to Teach:A Teacher’s Plea!” http://oldschoolteach.blogspot.com/2012/06/i-just-want-to-teach-teachers-plea.html
Dear Brian,
I feel your pain and have learned how to fly under the radar, too. It’s exactly what I’ve had to do in order to infuse creativity and problem solving into my curriculum.
I think administrators are just following orders, too. And it makes me sad to realize how much the stakeholders and students are getting cheated out of a first class education by this prescripted, follow the line kind of thinking. I hope that our parents wake up and demand the kind of education they used to be getting again….now I realize that not everyone was in a school that was working. But I think there were far more schools that were working than not working.
I fear that I haven’t fallen off my blogging path too. There are just so many things that I have to learn to keep up that I don’t make the time to sit back and do the posting I once did.
But all this negativity doesn’t rule the day. In fact, I think the last dark years of NCLB have been some of my most creative ones. Years where I’ve been finding new ways of approaching old ideas and I have been hard at the action research to find more effective ways of delivering my content. I hope that it’s because I’m getting old enough and experienced enough in my practice that I can get the “checklist” things done and still have time to innovate!!!!
My challenge is how to do all the action research that I want to do, continue to attend to being a connected teacher (doing things like this response to a very thoughtful post) and writing my own reflective blog. Time management again.
I hope that your new position will give you the time to do all the things you find important and that we’ll hear more from your perspective….it is always a welcomed spur to think differently.
Paula, Lisa and Marsha – I have noticed that part of having the time to blog and make the other connections outside of my classroom is directly related to what I am doing in my classroom. When we were following and building that kind of connected pedagogy in the classroom it seemed to easily flow into sharing about that on my own blog and in other places. The connections you make in one place seem to strengthen the connections in the other. It seems to make the time management piece easier.
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