Quote 5
"I love my job because I love my students," said one of the younger teachers at the school, "but I also hate my job because I know I'm buying into something that I don't believe in." (Kozol p.85)
Curriculum plays a big role in the education of students. It determines what they are learning, materials, lesson planning, and sometimes how a lesson can be taught. Many new teachers go into a school and are given a curriculum that they need to follow, which they might not necessarily like or believe in. Despite the frustration towards the curriculum, the teacher must go ahead and implement it in the classroom. Teachers who do not enjoy the curriculum may leave after only working in a certain school for a year because of this fact. Districts buy certain curriculums that are "proven" to work only to find out that the teachers may despise them or even the children aren't gaining as much knowledge from them as they can and as are needed for their grade level. I haven't had much experience with curriculums, so I can't say this is true for all. I hope to learn more about the various curriculums before I start student teaching.
Ryan,
ReplyDeleteI think that this quote can be applied to not only curriculum, but also standardized testing. In Connecticut the CMT’s provide teachers with many of stressful hours in the classroom teaching students tips they will need to know for the test. The CMT’s in many educators’ eyes is not beneficial to the students academics, it is only valuable for the school’s funding if the students have high test results. Standardized testing is something that a lot of educators don’t necessarily believe in, but have to teach because it is a part of the state and district requirements.
Allison,
ReplyDeleteI agree with you on the standardized testing. Do you think there are any teachers in this world that truly believe in standardized testing in needs that only benefit the schools and districts? I bet there are, but everyone is allowed to have their own opinion. Imagine how many other state standardized tests there are! I know Connecticut isn't the only state with teachers complaining about standardized testing. It is almost like college, where these students are cramming every last bit of tips for the test in, before they actually take it.
Ryan,
ReplyDeleteI think as future teachers we will run into this problems in our classrooms. Even if we dont believe in standardized testing or certain curriculum it's still going to be our duty to teach students to the best of our ability. We can take this challenge and try to make it more exciting. If educators dont beleive strongly in something (a lesson for example), then they should not give up, but work harder so students can find some kind of meaning behind it.