Now most of us, everyone in the buildings I work at, are already working after school to tutor kids, fill out the endless forms that every new government program requires. We also go to inservice classes after school not to mention the correcting of work and setting up of new engaging assignments. Adding 1 hour and 15 minutes to the school days means-offical school time would end at 5:00-which means instead of getting out by 6:30 like I do now it would be more like 7:30. Let’s not forget that for me school starts at 8:00 so I am in the building at 7:30-children leave between 3:15-3:30-teacher dismissal 4:00. Tutoring between 4:00-5:00 is perfect. After that I have time to prepare for the next day.

There are days you want to say-can you’ yall just let me teach! The hours of paper work that no one looks at saps my energy. The disrespect from so many who have never walked in our shoes, yet feel they can do it better-yep there are days it is discouraging. I bet ost of us have had those days.

Then there are those other days- when an 8th grader pops in after class and says- I just wanted you to know that it worked and I passed my Math test. (From a kid who told you for months he hated school!)Or when you hear a students yell YES! because the squeak or Scratch program worked!

So I overlook the administrators who JUST DON”T GET IT. Find time to do the paper work that makes them happy, and focus on the kids. It is all I can do! Some days it doesn’t seem like it is enough-other days it is the best job in the world because in my own way-I made a positive different in the life a child.

If anybody’s game, I added my response to Chris’ post trackbacked above.

[Post that got me thinking: Some New Years Dreaming by Will Richardson
On Leaving Teaching to Become a Teacher by Clay Burrell.]
In a provocative post, Will questions the role of schools in today’s society, and he quotes quotes Clay Burrell who writes…

Student / Teacher ratio - 5:1

No classrooms as such…

Community based…..

Pity it was just a dream!

‘I have a dream…..’

I feel as though I came late to this party & someone had already put the noisemakers away & turned out the lights…

Perhaps oddly much like the paradox we as educators face in our so called “modern” classrooms. As some of us seek to change, experiment, innovate, and truly “connect” with students, our local school adminstrators & politicians continue to completely stifle our honest efforts by emphasizing “test scores” & other so called “common assessments” -supposedly geared to “showcase” local,statewide, & national “student progress”-how SADLY ironic is that! Yikes!

I guess all we can do is to “keep the faith” & continue trying to change the educational “system” from within!

But what about those other kids? What about the ones whose parents think that taking spelling tests and memorizing the state capitals are important because that’s what they did when they were in school? What about the ones whose parents are so busy making ends meet that they don’t have the energy or resources to supplement their kids’ education? Or…what about the ones who are lucky if they have a parent at home who even knows they’re alive? Who is going to supplement their education? Who is going to find them a better alternative? I’m not (necessarily) blaming parents here…the majority of them are doing the best they know how. But we are the professionals here…they trust us to be doing the right thing for their kids. I guess this means that part of our job is to educate parents as well…but that can be another entire conversation.

As difficult a hill as it will be to climb, I think that it is crucial that we fight to improve public education because it serves (or should serve) ALL children. I think you are right…when enough people start opting for other answers, maybe then public education will sit up and take notice. Until then…and for those kids who will remain in our classrooms… I will keep working one child and one teacher and one classroom at a time to make changes in the system - or at least in my little corner of it.

As Kyle mentioned above, it will take all of us working both inside and outside the system to make change happen. I applaud the efforts of everyone involved in this wonderful conversation. Here’s to our collective efforts in 2008!

The system needs to have people (like many in this discussion) who are pushing the edges and shaking things up, but there are still so many barriers in schools to transparent use of technology for learning.

Some of us need to go into administration to move for change that way. Some of us need to continue as classroom teachers showing that teaching and learning can be different. Some of us need to be facilitators, helping to bring down the barriers so that teachers can grow. Some of us need to be blog-writers and national speakers who challenge and have a bigger vision.

Wil, I think you are doing the right thing… what you are gifted at. You are helping us all to think and work for change. You are being an example for your kids of using the gifts you were given to help others make things better in our world.