by Larry Campbell | Apr 16, 2022 | Education |
Think back to your days in school – at any level. Can you name your favorite teachers? Could be kindergarten, could be post-graduate advisor. Pick your three favorite. My guess is that most of us can probably do this fairly easily.
Now take another moment to think seriously and identify the reason(s) that each of those teachers made your top 3. Can you make a short list?
I’ve heard these kinds of lists from future teachers for years, so I’ll bet some of your reasons included things like “She believed in me when I didn’t”, or “he made me think”, or “she was hard on me when I needed it the most” or “he inspired me to want to do better and learn more.” Did I come close? What were your reasons?
I think it’s also a fairly safe bet that absolutely none of the reasons included things like “he was punctual and never missed a day”, or “she took direction from the principal well”, or “she always turned reports in on time, and never missed a turn at cafeteria duty.” Please note: those things may be important, and were probably true, but they weren’t the traits that made those teachers your personal favorites.
Perhaps you’ve guessed that I’m still thinking about the column topic from two weeks ago. I shared about two teacher-recommendation forms (and, since then I’ve received a third!) that asked about many of the qualities in the previous paragraph, but none of the qualities in the paragraph before. Apparently there is a ‘disconnect’ between what we seek when we hire teachers, and what really matters in the classroom.
It gets worse. Go back to your favorite-teachers list. I’m willing to bet that not one of your qualities of great teachers included “They helped me score well on a standardized test – they really increased my performance.” (You might have said “He really knew his stuff and could get me to learn it, too”, but you probably didn’t connect it to performance on a test. Those are different.) Again – this was very possibly true, but it’s not what made the teacher one of your favorites.
So, look at our situation: Apparently the qualities we look for when we hire teachers differ from the qualities we look for when we evaluate them, which is bad enough. But it’s also a very real possibility that neither of those sets of qualities match well with what makes a great teacher!!
There are many factors behind this confusion, and it helps to note just three of them. 1) What makes teachers great or successful will often vary from student to student. Good teachers must know their students, how they learn, and what motivates them. 2) Partly because of this, evaluating really good teaching is one of the toughest jobs in education! Good teaching is so much more than increasing performance on skills tests. 3) And partly because of all of this, predicting really good teaching is equally as (if not more) difficult as/than evaluating them. So hiring is obviously not an easy task.
In the midst of all this, our best teachers continue to swim upstream against lots of mixed messages about what’s expected of them. These teachers need our support and encouragement. And they can certainly do without our almost constant blame for an educational situation which is often not of their doing. These teachers will go on to be favorites to our children and grandchildren, and perhaps we need to clear up our hiring and evaluating acts – not to mention our perspective – to help them do so.
by Larry Campbell | Apr 2, 2022 | Education |
Having worked with future teachers, I’ve written a lot of references for teaching jobs. I’ve recently had occasion to respond to a couple more. As a result I’ve noticed (again) a fascinating, puzzling – and highly frustrating – phenomenon.
The two most recent recommendations were for different schools of different sizes in different areas of the state, yet they were nearly 100% identical. In and of itself, this is not too surprising. It seems that most schools these days ‘outsource’ their recruiting/hiring services to larger companies, who prepare the online reference forms (for approval?) and probably tabulate the responses as well. These two schools clearly used the same service.
Whether school districts’ decisions to use these services is penny-wise and dollar-foolish is probably an excellent question, and I’d love to explore it. Unfortunately, that will have to be left for another day.
What I found both fascinating and frustrating is the nature of the questions themselves. On the surface, the questions look typical. I’m reluctant to take space to list them all, but it is pertinent, so . . .
After the usual ‘relationship to applicant’ data (which by the way was nebulous enough itself – 4 choices, none of which were professor), I was asked to rate this student on attendance, dependability, willingness to assume responsibility, ability to follow instructions and respond to supervision, and both quality & quantity of work. (I’m still a little puzzled over those last two.)
Then I was given the chance to list the person’s strong points and areas that might need improvement. I was also asked if I would ‘rehire’ the person (as if a college professor could rehire a student!) All of these, by the way, were ‘required’ questions.
All of these are fine traits, of course, and most are probably desirable qualities in a teacher. On the other hand, have you noticed anything interesting yet?
Here we have a recommendation form for a future teacher, and NOT ONE of the questions relates to ANYTHING that deals with the candidate’s ability to actually teach ! Or relate to students. Or inspire students. Or help struggling students. Or dozens of other related traits I believe we’d want a good teacher to have. There’s not even a question about the applicant’s knowledge of the subject matter!
How can this be?!? Why would a district – let alone several – approve this type of form? How can a district even appear to be uninterested in an applicant’s ability to teach – as hard as that may be to determine?
Are we really more interested in a future teacher’s ability to ‘play well with others’ and accept supervision, than we are in their ability to help students learn?? In fact, there is a convincing argument that that best teachers tend to be pot-stirrers, but I’ll bypass that for the time being.
There’s another huge irony here. It’s very subtle, and I don’t like to bring it up with all its complexities. I’ve written before about how difficult it is to truly evaluate teachers and the art of teaching. Nonetheless, in an era when everyone (mistakenly, in my opinion) seems determined to judge teachers on the ‘performance’ of their students how can we be appear to be sending reference forms that don’t even try to find out how well they might do with students?! What’s wrong with this picture?
I’m aware that there is a lot more going on here than meets the eye. Often these forms are used to ‘screen’ applicants to decide who to interview, where I’m sure (aren’t I ?) that the ability to teach enters the hiring equation. But do we even want to be even screening on just these qualities?
Shouldn’t the hiring process of good teachers be as important as their evaluation process?
by Larry Campbell | Dec 12, 2021 | Education |
It’s resolution-making time, of course. Why not consider adding the cause of education to your list of things to help improve this year? There is still time to include your Top 3 Educational Resolutions for this year! The good news is there are many opportunities, and this will be easy, because YOU are going to pick your own Top Three!!
Here are eleven quick ways for you to help further education, either in general, or in your home (or both) in 2022. Some of these are about schools/classrooms/teachers, some about your own child(ren) and/or you, some are mixed. Some are concrete, some are rather more nebulous. Some of them are ‘easy’, some require time/effort. What suits you?
It turns out there are 165 different ways to pick a group of 3 from the list, so surely we can each find a good, comfortable set of educational resolutions for ourselves. Use them for the whole year, OR, if your resolutions tend to go the way of most, rotate in 3 new ones each month or quarter. Or mix and match them regularly. Or invent you own. Doesn’t matter. ALL of them will help, and in the aggregate, we can together make a significant difference!
Here are the suggestions. Add your own items, as well! Have fun making your choices!
In 2022, RESOLVE TO . . .
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Give teachers more credit and overall appreciation. especially in a pandemic, but in all situations. Period. They deserve it. Especially now.- Express that appreciation. Thank a teacher or two, personally or by sending a card. Do this every so often.
- Take an interest (especially if your children are in school). Don’t skip parent/teacher conferences, ask your child(ren) how school’s going and continue to keep up with their work. As/when it becomes appropriate, volunteer in classes, be a chaperon, etc. Ask how you can help.
- If you’re not a DO-ing person in pandemic times, or even if you are . . .Send a check to a local school for a teacher’s (or teachers’) use or for general materials, or for pandemic supplies, etc. Be sure to check school rules and send it through the main office.
- Go to one or more board meetings. Perhaps you’re not interested in a thing they discuss that night, but you’ll definitely learn more about the school’s workings and you’ll gain a better appreciation of the work the board and its members are doing.
- Along those lines, have or develop a first impulse to vote FOR school-requested levies. This is NOT a blank check. Absolutely DO your due diligence. But, unless there’s a good reason otherwise, vote FOR.
- And along those lines, for heaven’s sake, have or develop a first impulse to TRUST your school board, even in times of controversy. This is not a blank check either, and it is not a contradiction to taking an interest or getting involved. Nor does it mean you can’t voice your concerns. But express them thoughtfully in a give/take, civil atomosphere (as opposed to, say, a circus-style, attention grabbing one). By and large, school boards consist of a group of indivuals whose common goal is the maximum welfare and learning for our children, with input from educational professionals. Nothing is certain these days, but they are typically not motivated by politics, and neither should we be.
- Look for ways to get your own child(ren) to think and learn. Play more ‘thinking games’ with the kids. Ask questions, read age-appropriate books that include things they can see, that they are interested in, and can learn from. (National Geographic Kids’ books and even magazines are GREAT for these things, among others.)
- Make sure your kids know how important you think education is and encourage their learning. If they ask a question you don’t know, look it up together (easy to do these days!)
- Similarly, show that you are still modeling learning (and eager to learn) yourself. Read a book, take an online course, etc.
- Develop a broader perspective on education. TRY not to get stuck in the past. Calculators are not bad, cursive writing may disappear, digital learning is here to stay, and ‘new’ things are on the horizon. We’ll survive, and so will our schools. (See # 7.)
Thanks for making a difference with your educational resolutions in 2022! Happy New Year!
by Larry Campbell | Jun 26, 2021 | Education |
As he aged, the Wise Old Master had begun asking the same question to all who sought his insight. At some point, he would ask the seeker “what is your underlying fear?”
Such an interesting and powerful question! If viewed squarely and truthfully, it’s frequently uncomfortable, but almost always enlightening. I’m wondering if we all shouldn’t be asking that question to ourselves often these days.
So I return to our topic of last time – critical race theory (CRT), and particularly how it relates to education. And I’m brought to the murky intersection of facts, opinions, fears, and perspectives that I’ve encountered since then.
In that previous column, I confessed some unfortunate ignorance on the issue, and hoped to use that uncertainty to provide some early neutrality and to ask some general questions of a topic I know to be controversial.
Since then, here’s a little of what I think I’ve learned. “Critical race theory” is not so much a well-defined entity, as it is a catch-all phrase used for a broad academic/legal framework by scholars examining racism in our country and whether or not it is affected, even perpetuated, by various legal, policy, and educational structures along the way.
A timely question asked in this broad framework might be “why did so few of us even know of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre?” Those events are unquestioned facts of history, yet they were rarely mentioned in history classes.
The nebulous nature of the term CRT naturally opens the door to controversy and differences of opinions, but it also does something else: It makes it crystal clear that CRT is NOT anywhere near a “topic” that could somehow be taught in public schools. That view – expressed intentionally or not – is so misleading.
So my own first perspective/insight is that we may be asking the wrong question in education and certainly in politics.. Given the above, asking ‘should we teach CRT?’, is like asking ‘should we bottle sunlight?‘ Both things are impossible!
However, should we pay attention to scholars’ insights as we explain/teach our country’s history and its encounters with racism?’ That’s certainly going to yield different answers and interpretations in different circumstances.
I guess I can’t see any harm in asking questions like “should the iron-clad facts & events in Tulsa in 1921 have been shared as part of our history? Should they be shared more often now?” Answers will undoubtedly differ from person to person, from educator to educator (and, unfortunately, from politician to politican), but can there be any harm in being aware and asking as we work to eliminate racism?
And, finally, as it relates to education, I guess I can see no harm in considering such questions as we continually grapple with what we should be teaching our future citizens in our social studies, citizenship, and history classes. If the answer to these questions is no, there was no harm in asking. If the answer is yes, there is plenty of harm in not asking.
I’m not foolish enough to believe that these views are universally shared. It’s obvious that there are folks who do see harm in asking these questions. (I have responses from them!) But, why? Perhaps the real question is not about CRT after all. Perhaps the real question is the age-old question from the Wise Old Master: Why are there people who do not want to eliminate hate/racism? What is their fear?
My own fear? That we’ve lost our oft-stated core belief that “all men (and women) are created equal”. Did we ever really share that belief?
Facts, fears, and perspectives. Can we still face them together, and respectfully? Can education help?
by Larry Campbell | Jun 6, 2021 | Education |
Talk about ‘hot-button words’! I’m not sure I’ve ever seen so much passion (dare I say fear?) generated by such a nebulously defined (at least to me, at this point) topic! And so, we have our latest controversy in society and in education.
This will not be a column about Critical Race Theory (CRT) itself. I’m not yet prepared to take a stand on it. Partly that’s because, as hinted, I still haven’t digested what CRT is intended to be (and to whom), and what the variety of educational ramifications are. And partly that’s due, in turn, to the fact that there seem to be so many different reasons being given for those who are opposing it, especially in legislatures. This variety is intriguing to me. And I admit it makes me suspicious. What’s really going on?
So, instead, I think this will be a column of what I hope are reasonable questions and observations. I suspect opinions may arise later, but for now, let’s just step back and explore. And think.
Let me start with what feels like the most ironic opposition talking point I’ve heard so far. I’ve seen it now from legislators in at least two or three different states. They state their reasons for opposing it and then toss off this gem: “Let’s teach our kids how to think, not what to think”.
What a loaded statement! On the surface, who can argue with teaching our kids how to think?! If you’ve read the views in this space even occasionally, you’ll know I continually espouse doing exactly that.
But the statement is not only loaded with irony, it creates a ‘false opposite’ or ‘false either/or’ kind of situation which appears to be designed to cleverly reinforce a particular view. One needs to THINK about that statement!
It’s ironic for several reasons. One quick example is that it seems, on the surface at least, that the people making that statement are the same breed of legislators who used to (and still do?) demand (indeed legislate) that Creation Theory, for example, be given equal time in science classes. And for essentially the same reasons they oppose CRT.
And then there’s the ‘false either/or’ situation. It’s true that we do NOT want to ‘indoctrinate’ students on sensitive societal matters, especially in social, religious and political arenas. That’s a given. And partly we do not want to do that precisely because we want them to learn to think and decide for themselves! But, isn’t it also true that whenever we teach a ‘fact’, we are essentially telling students ‘what to believe’?! Do we want students to ‘think’ that the earth is flat, that 2+2 does not equal four, that there are not currently 50 states?
Moreover, arguing against a change is to subtly argue for the status quo. Either way, we’re suggesting ‘what to think.’
Consider a thought experiment. Imagine a high school social studies teacher who gives the following assignment, designed to encourage student thinking: “Critical Race Theory is controversial topic these days. Explore/research the topic on your own and write your own succinct definition. In 300 words, summarize the pros and cons of CRT and give your initial opinion. Be prepared to a) openly discuss this as a class, b) defend your own thoughts, and c) listen to and honor others’ opinions.”
Questions for us, as we close: A) Would that assignment continue helping students learn to think? B) Would that teacher somehow get in trouble – or be criticized – for giving it? Why or why not? C) How far should politicians go in interfering in curriculum matters?
by Larry Campbell | May 25, 2021 | Education |
Every so often it feels appropriate, even called for, to share a story, mostly without comment. This seems like one of those times. The story appeared in Education Week (via the Associated Press), and has been edited, for space reasons.
Rigby , Idaho – When a student opened fire at an Idaho middle school, teacher Krista Gneiting directed children to safety, rushed to help a wounded victim, and then calmly disarmed the 6th grade shooter, hugging and consoling the girl until police arrived. Parents credited the math teacher’s display of compassion with saving lives.
Gneiting said she was preparing her Rigby Middle School students for their final exams when she heard the first gunshot down the hall. She looked outside her classroom and saw the custodian lying on the floor. She heard two more shots as she closed the door. “So I just told my students, ‘We are going to leave, we’re going to run to the high school, you’re going to run hard, you’re not going to look back and now is the time to go”.
Police said a 6th grade girl brought the handgun in her backpack and shot two people inside the school and one outside. All three were wounded in their limbs and released from the hospital within a few days.
Gneiting said she was trying to help one of the students who had been shot when she saw the girl holding the gun. She told the wounded student to stay still and approached the 6th grader. “It was a little girl, and my brain couldn’t quite grasp that,” she said. “I just knew when I saw that gun, I had to get the gun.”
She asked the girl, “Are you the shooter?” and then walked closer, putting her hand on the child’s arm and sliding it down to the gun. “I just slowly pulled the gun out of her hand, and she allowed me to. She didn’t give it to me, but she didn’t fight,” Gneiting said. “And then after I got the gun, I just pulled her into a hug because I thought, this little girl has a mom somewhere that doesn’t realize she’s having a breakdown and she’s hurting people.”
Gneiting held the girl, consoling her until police arrived. “After a while, the girl started talking to me, and I could tell she was very unhappy,” Gneiting said. “I just kept hugging her and loving her and trying to let her know that we’re going to get through this together. I do believe that my being there helped her because she calmed down.”
Once police got there, Gneiting told the girl that an officer would need to put her in handcuffs, and the child complied. “She didn’t respond, she just let him. He was very gentle and very kind, and he just went ahead and took her and put her in the police car,” she said.
Gneiting, meanwhile, said she hopes people can forgive the girl and help her get the support she needs.“She is just barely starting in life and she just needs some help. “I think we need to make sure we get her help and get her back into where she loves herself so that she can function in society.”
There will be the usual cries of outrage here (‘She touched a student!’ ‘Throw the book at the girl!’). Perhaps those are discussions for another time.
But can’t we briefly revel in a shooting story with a relatively happy ending? And can’t we remind ourselves that these kinds of teachers are everywhere and are easily the rule rather than the exception. Please – thank a teacher today.
