YES - teaching IS hard. MORE of this - more on the complexities, the nuance - more on how it took him 7 years to find his groove.
MORE on the pressure to raise test scores - because it is what is possible (in some cases) - and MORE on how social failures (persistent poverty, income inequality, systemic racism) impact education. Educators and schools are (it seems) tasked with overcoming these challenges even if the greater society ignores or even exacerbates them. It's pretty logical, then, to think about what a school CAN do - like address test scores to expand possible student opportunity.
Schools might also become community centers or provide free breakfast and lunch - but that requires funding.
When schools ask for money, they are often told to "show results" and that means those tangible, measurable test scores.
Lots to digest here - and then there's the reality that while policymakers "figure it out," kids are in school now - they can't wait for consensus to emerge.
Holy smokes, he articulates the intense complexities so well! Safety vs freedom (and the ways that feeling safe contributes to learning and success); reactionary "fixes" that feel good in the moment but that carry loads of unforeseen and often harmful consequences; the way ideology obscures our ability to live in reality (what an amazing way to describe this!); the way there's very little room to ask questions in good faith or talk openly about concerns or what's not working, because there's so much fear about being branded and cast out.
Just found this through a link in another newsletter. I teach in public school, but a similar population to what I believe is being described here. My school had an incredibly rough year last year, and we are rebuilding to support our students better this year AND raise their test scores. I'm working on my administrative certification, and one of the things we're learning (a bright spot in a sea of otherwise very frustrating "no excuses" type literature) is about how you need both rigorous academics AND social-emotional learning TOGETHER. I feel like I veer more toward the SEL side, and I work in a school that veers more toward the academic side, and we've all gotta come to the middle to make it work. It's really interesting to see this reflected here, coming from a charter context. Thank you for the nuance of this interview! I'm excited to listen to the podcast (and I'm rarely excited to take in any education-related media content after being at school all day!).
YES - teaching IS hard. MORE of this - more on the complexities, the nuance - more on how it took him 7 years to find his groove.
MORE on the pressure to raise test scores - because it is what is possible (in some cases) - and MORE on how social failures (persistent poverty, income inequality, systemic racism) impact education. Educators and schools are (it seems) tasked with overcoming these challenges even if the greater society ignores or even exacerbates them. It's pretty logical, then, to think about what a school CAN do - like address test scores to expand possible student opportunity.
Schools might also become community centers or provide free breakfast and lunch - but that requires funding.
When schools ask for money, they are often told to "show results" and that means those tangible, measurable test scores.
Lots to digest here - and then there's the reality that while policymakers "figure it out," kids are in school now - they can't wait for consensus to emerge.
Holy smokes, he articulates the intense complexities so well! Safety vs freedom (and the ways that feeling safe contributes to learning and success); reactionary "fixes" that feel good in the moment but that carry loads of unforeseen and often harmful consequences; the way ideology obscures our ability to live in reality (what an amazing way to describe this!); the way there's very little room to ask questions in good faith or talk openly about concerns or what's not working, because there's so much fear about being branded and cast out.
Just found this through a link in another newsletter. I teach in public school, but a similar population to what I believe is being described here. My school had an incredibly rough year last year, and we are rebuilding to support our students better this year AND raise their test scores. I'm working on my administrative certification, and one of the things we're learning (a bright spot in a sea of otherwise very frustrating "no excuses" type literature) is about how you need both rigorous academics AND social-emotional learning TOGETHER. I feel like I veer more toward the SEL side, and I work in a school that veers more toward the academic side, and we've all gotta come to the middle to make it work. It's really interesting to see this reflected here, coming from a charter context. Thank you for the nuance of this interview! I'm excited to listen to the podcast (and I'm rarely excited to take in any education-related media content after being at school all day!).