An education for all...

(stock photo - 1970)

To be a teacher today you have to be a psychologist, play therapist, mediator, mother/father figure, and humorist all rolled into one. It's not the easy job it once was; not to belittle teachers of the past but I think of the teachers I had growing up and they didn't need to have quite the skill set we do now. I've interviewed some retired teachers to check my thinking on this and they agree. Teaching has changed; the pay has not.  We work damn hard for our money and leave exhausted every day. Many of us work an hour (and sometimes more) at the end of the day to be ready for the next day and many of us spend weekend afternoons to plan for the week. It's a lot of planning to keep kids interested in what we teach. We have to figure out ways to integrate technology but not too much.  I don't want to give kids the perception that everything fun happens on a screen. I stress books, reading, board games, and lots of time outside and that is true for in school and out. I want students I work with to enjoy school both in the library and in their classroom.

(image - JennyXYoung)

My daughter - Groovy Girl - is in high school now, a senior! When I started this blog she was just beginning elementary school, which she loved!  She adored many of her teachers and was excited for the variety of activities they did. She hates school now and it crushes me.  She loves learning and watches a lot of cool educational documentaries for fun. She is opinionated and understands a great deal about the world around her.  So why do we squeeze the fun out of school at the middle and high school level? 

She is sleepy every morning as she trudges off to school.  She is tired from dance the night before and often stays up to midnight to finish homework.  As a parent I've questioned why are we still doing dance when it leaves very little time for homework yet it is her absolute JOY. How can I take that away from her? I can't. So we struggle through and she worries about if she'll make it in college based on her high school experience. She gets little help from school counselors and her teachers. She's smart, yet has to work hard, and she questions her ability all the time.  Sometimes when she takes a test (1-4 performance-based grade) and doesn't do well she has nowhere to turn. The class just moves on except technically they are supposed to reteach if kids are struggling.  I want her to be able  to retake a test to help her learn more.  I want her teachers to reach out and see her even if she is the only one struggling with concepts. Our system at least in high school fails in this.  She  feels horrible when she doesn't succeed and while I know the real world is often dog eat dog most jobs you learn as you go and you keep moving forward. We should allow failures to blossom into growth in all levels of education.

I am aware in all this that technology plays a role in her life and is often a HUGE hindrance in getting things accomplished.  She can access homework on her phone and uses it for flashcards and learning apps like Quizlet but often that leads to checking IG, watching SnapChat videos from friends, the list is endless. After a recent conversation she deleted some of her time-wasting apps, which made her happy; to be pro-active but then said she filled that time with dancing around the house instead of more homework!  I wish I had the answer or magical words to help.  I don't.  Do you?

Teachers and students of today have a mixed bag of trouble and triumph.  I hope she (and I) can make it through this year and that she will flourish in college. I want to enjoy this last year with her not spend every day helping her work out her frustrations and encouraging confidence in herself.