Recently, both on twitter and in person, I've had the pleasure of talking with a few teachers that just concluded their first year in the classroom. Some were tired, some were sickly, some were jaded, and some were hopeful. What did they all have in common? They all thought something was missing. "Support" is the buzzword they all clung to. Some wish they had more time to observe other teachers, some wished they had been observed more, and some just with their administrators would have responded to their requests for help with discipline.
I'm glad we have new teachers coming in to the classroom, especially with so many leaving for various reasons. Why didn't they feel supported. The administrators were all too busy at may of their schools. This is my problems with the changes in DISD and Dallas Education: We are trying to please adults more than educate kids. I was and still am a supporter of finding new and better ways to educate students. What I have seen that endeavor become on the ground, in our schools and classrooms, is compliance for compliance sake.
Here is what I mean:
"Is your LO and DOL up? Ok, check!" - Wrong
"Do your kids know what your LO is and why it is important? According to your DOL, was your lesson effective? How will that change your approach with your students tomorrow?" - Right
To me there is a big difference between those two scenarios, but scenario 1, the compliance scenario, is what the "DISD education Reforms" have become. Maybe that is because the administrators we are hiring don't have the skills or training to effectively implement the reforms. Maybe it's because they are to busy to properly conduct their jobs. Either way, it's created a poor environment for students and new teachers alike.
I'm glad we have new teachers coming in to the classroom, especially with so many leaving for various reasons. Why didn't they feel supported. The administrators were all too busy at may of their schools. This is my problems with the changes in DISD and Dallas Education: We are trying to please adults more than educate kids. I was and still am a supporter of finding new and better ways to educate students. What I have seen that endeavor become on the ground, in our schools and classrooms, is compliance for compliance sake.
Here is what I mean:
"Is your LO and DOL up? Ok, check!" - Wrong
"Do your kids know what your LO is and why it is important? According to your DOL, was your lesson effective? How will that change your approach with your students tomorrow?" - Right
To me there is a big difference between those two scenarios, but scenario 1, the compliance scenario, is what the "DISD education Reforms" have become. Maybe that is because the administrators we are hiring don't have the skills or training to effectively implement the reforms. Maybe it's because they are to busy to properly conduct their jobs. Either way, it's created a poor environment for students and new teachers alike.
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