April 28
Opportunity to Affect Positive Change Guest blog post by John Stevens
Truth be told, we have an incredible opportunity to affect positive change on the students we serve every day, every year, for the entirety of our teaching career. However, we as a profession have been leaving our biggest ally in supporting students on the sidelines for far too long. There are a lot of factors that we cannot control, but there are some we can. We can create more meaningful tasks, empower our students to have a voice and choice , and we can provide them with a safe space in which to do all of this. So you’ve listened to Alice and Matt Miller and you’ve decided to get rid of worksheets…
Now What if No Worksheets?
If you’re no longer doing worksheets, like in my son’s case, then what? What are you doing to stimulate his learning? If you’re tossing worksheets to the side, what are you replacing them with? It isn’t easy to just toss out what doesn’t work; something that does work needs to be ready to use in its place. Something better. Something that gets kids thinking and sparks a discussion.
This is a big reason why I started tabletalkmath.com, a free weekly newsletter for parents that shares one quick and easy prompt to try out at home. But hey, if you’re a teacher looking for new ideas, you’re welcome to try them out as well! The newsletters are written in a parent-friendly tone and will often be written by guest contributors, parents who are also learning how to navigate a life of caring for another (or more than one!).
This ties into what our very own student from Suisun Valley presented to the board last night:
Good evening Board President Honeychurch, Superintendent Corey, members of the Governing Board and community. My name is Natalie Frenkel, I am 13 years old and I attend Suisun Valley K-8. I am here today to talk about the quality of our teachers here in our district. It is vital that the students receive the best education they can have, and that starts with the educators.
Students should be given the tools they need to succeed, and when they’re not given the best possible teacher, it affects them directly and can hurt them in the future. When in a classroom setting it is important that they bring new ideas and make the environment a better place for everyone to be in. Students learn best when they are engaged and excited to learn, and the teachers are responsible for that.
In the past, I was in a classroom in which I was given a schedule and all of the work I was to do that day. Almost half of my class and I taught each other and ourselves everything. We would be given a section of math, science, and history, and a story in our ELA textbook. We would read the section we were given and answer questions according to what we read, and we followed the book’s directions to figure out the math. Our teacher would spend their time with the students who didn’t understand the subjects as well as the others. This left us with a separated class; with more attention spent on one half who didn’t understand and the other half left to figure everything out by themselves. Most people would finish all of their work before lunch and then we would spend the rest of the day, not really doing much of anything.
I have had many teachers in the past years that have brought innovative ideas to the classroom that helped me really understand the concepts of what I am learning. These innovative ideas include hands on learning. In my class, we all built paper airplanes and had a competition to see who could make theirs fly the farthest, which helped us learn about the different forces that acted upon the planes as they flew, therefore teaching us those forces that would come into play in more real-life situations. They balanced aspects of fun and interesting hands-on learning as well as keeping everyone engaged in class conversations. The material they taught was relevant and applicable as well. In a class setting like the ones I have been in, it is important that the teachers connect with the students who they see everyday, because it allows for them to really understand how the student learns. The teachers I have had, were able to adapt to the ever-changing needs of the class and make sure that everyone was on the same page at all times. This is a very important trait for a teacher to possess because it ensures that everyone is learning what they need to be. LCAP goal #4 states that the district will execute high quality instructional programs and provide educational options to ensure every student graduates and is college and career ready. Without high quality instructors to nurture students and their education, it is hard to carry out this goal.
To me, it is critical that we make sure that every single one of our instructors are capable of teaching students everything they need to know, in a way that is inclusive and informational for all. Before hiring a teacher that will be with the students for the rest of the year, I feel the principal of the school should sit down with that teacher to go over specific plans and actions that the teacher will take throughout the year. If the teacher is not fit to meet the standards that a student needs to succeed, in my opinion the teacher should not to be hired, therefore saving the future students from not receiving the best education that they can have. No student wants to do book work all day and fill their head with information they may not retain, and no student wants to be free to do what they choose and not learn a thing. There is a balance that comes from how the educator teaches. I feel that no student deserves to be placed in a classroom where the teacher is not meeting the standards that they need to be. Teachers should work with everyone no matter what the skill level, know the information they are teaching, and make the classroom they are teaching in an environment students want to be in, that mixes hands-on learning, class discussions, projects, book work, and different aspects of learning. No one person learns in the same way and it is important that the educators build what their teaching in a way that benefits everyone. Students should all have the chance to succeed, and when they are not given proper teachers to help nurture and support their learning, it can affect them for years to come.
Here is a link to our SPSA 2017-2018: CLICK HERE
Please make sure you read it before our staff meeting and come prepared to discuss any questions or concerns you may have.
Please make sure you read it before our staff meeting and come prepared to discuss any questions or concerns you may have.
Observable Fish Moments at SV:
Be There: Thank you for being flexible with our big mix up on Monday for the SBAC celebration. We appreciated it. Melissa thank you for leading our SV Battle of the Books.
Play: Thank you for making it a fun day for our office staff all week long.
Choose your attitude:
To actually choose how you respond to life, not just react, you must be intentional. Ask yourself throughout the day, "What is my attitude right now? Is it helping the people who depend on me? Is it helping me to be most effective?" NO EXCUSES!!
Make Their Day: It is almost the end of the year. Call a parent of a student who always doing the right thing even when no one is looking.
THROUGH THE FISH PHILOSOPHY,
WE BUILD STRONGER RELATIONSHIPS WITH THE PEOPLE WE WORK WITH,
THE STUDENTS WE TEACH AND THE PEOPLE WE LOVE.
