So What Am I Whining About? (the ACT, elementary school, economy, doctor)

[antredd]

I am a classroom teacher with 17 years of experience primarily in elementary grades. Ever since No Child Left Behind was passed into law, the requirements and the things that they want us elementary teachers to do and accomplish in one day is literally INSANE.

I will tell you why. Here in CA, and I am speaking of just my school district. We are required with only 6 hours in a day to teach all subjects the vocabulary from each subject, ELD for our English Language Learners, provide some type of intervention for students who don't learn the concepts, meet regularly in our grade level teams after school about twice a month, and by the end of this school year have 52% of my students proficient when only 17% of my students came to me proficient from the 3rd grade.

The school district mandates that we must follow this strict lesson pacing guide, and some how if elementary teachers follow that pacing guide to the letter, everything will just some how work itself out. NOT!!!! There is a pacing guide for Language Arts, Math, Science, and Social Studies. PE and Health also have their own set of standards that we must also teach some how during the day.

With all of the interruptions during the day, assemblies, students coming in and out of the class room for band rehearsals, bathroom breaks, nurses office visits, and students who are chronically absent, it becomes impossible to cover every subject area very well. I'm surpised that I can still some how get about 70% of my students each year to improve on our state standardized test.

So what am I whining about? I am whining about the fact that I don't have time in my instructional day to realistically be an effective teacher where I can get 100% of my students proficient. I have too many kids, exactly 34 students all crammed into my portable classroom that is over 25 years old. I get an aide just for 45 minutes to work with my English Language Learners who speak very little English.

Just think about this for one minute if you still disagree with me. An emergency room doctor may see 10-50 patients (depending on the size of the city or day or the week) during his shift at a privately owned HMO hospital. Is that doctor under the same pressure to cure every patient that he sees? After all, he has a nurse who helps him by taking the patient's vitals, who sets up appointments for him, and who does paper work for him before he even sees the patient. So at least he or she doesn't have to worry about that part of the job.

Where as a teacher, who on average in CA can have a few as 20-34 students if he or she teachers elementary school, about 40-150 students if he or she teaches middle school, and about 150-200 students if he or she teaches high school. That teacher is required to take attendance, grade papers and tests, provide intervention on his or her time before or after school, and phone each parent to schedule parent conferences etc as well as teach his students the content.

The federal government wants NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND, forcing every teacher in the USA to have EVERY CHILD PROFICIENT BY THE YEARS 2014, and yet the system that we have in place guarentees that some students will still be left behind--be it because they can't, won't, or don't learn.

[TuborgP]

Originally Posted by antredd

I am a classroom teacher with 17 years of experience primarily in elementary grades. Ever since No Child Left Behind was passed into law, the requirements and the things that they want us elementary teachers to do and accomplish in one day is literally INSANE.

I will tell you why. Here in CA, and I am speaking of just my school district. We are required with only 6 hours in a day to teach all subjects the vocabulary from each subject, ELD for our English Language Learners, provide some type of intervention for students who don't learn the concepts, meet regularly in our grade level teams after school about twice a month, and by the end of this school year have 52% of my students proficient when only 17% of my students came to me proficient from the 3rd grade.

The school district mandates that we must follow this strict lesson pacing guide, and some how if elementary teachers follow that pacing guide to the letter, everything will just some how work itself out. NOT!!!! There is a pacing guide for Language Arts, Math, Science, and Social Studies. PE and Health also have their own set of standards that we must also teach some how during the day.

With all of the interruptions during the day, assemblies, students coming in and out of the class room for band rehearsals, bathroom breaks, nurses office visits, and students who are chronically absent, it becomes impossible to cover every subject area very well. I'm surpised that I can still some how get about 70% of my students each year to improve on our state standardized test.

So what am I whining about? I am whining about the fact that I don't have time in my instructional day to realistically be an effective teacher where I can get 100% of my students proficient. I have too many kids, exactly 34 students all crammed into my portable classroom that is over 25 years old. I get an aide just for 45 minutes to work with my English Language Learners who speak very little English.

Just think about this for one minute if you still disagree with me. An emergency room doctor may see 10-50 patients (depending on the size of the city or day or the week) during his shift at a privately owned HMO hospital. Is that doctor under the same pressure to cure every patient that he sees? After all, he has a nurse who helps him by taking the patient's vitals, who sets up appointments for him, and who does paper work for him before he even sees the patient. So at least he or she doesn't have to worry about that part of the job.

Where as a teacher, who on average in CA can have a few as 20-34 students if he or she teachers elementary school, about 40-150 students if he or she teaches middle school, and about 150-200 students if he or she teaches high school. That teacher is required to take attendance, grade papers and tests, provide intervention on his or her time before or after school, and phone each parent to schedule parent conferences etc as well as teach his students the content.

The federal government wants NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND, forcing every teacher in the USA to have EVERY CHILD PROFICIENT BY THE YEARS 2014, and yet the system that we have in place guarentees that some students will still be left behind--be it because they can't, won't, or don't learn.

What everyone needs to understand is that NCLB lays the ground work for a major reduction in the federal budget and resulting deficit. If those districts failing actually do have federal funds withheld we will be well on the way to minimizing the role of the federal government in public education. There are those who believe in conspiracies who felt that was one of the original goals. Do some research on who some of the early advocates and supporters of were. Some would say that with the help of congress the act morphed into something with unintended consequences that some of the early advocates were not intending for. It was not to have been so expensive and such a tax burden on state and local government not to mention the federal government. Perhaps just perhaps this some might say he fear and reality of NCLB is comparable to the fear about government health care.

[delta07]

antredd, I am very sympathetic to your situation. After only two years of teaching, I decided to leave the profession because I couldn't deal with the endless work and stress of the job. I really wanted to be a teacher to make a difference, but with all the red tape that teachers are handed, I felt I couldn't make a difference. As someone who never taught before NCLB, I don't know what it was like. I think many veteran teachers are able to stick it out because they remember what teaching was. I applaud you for doing your job and getting your class as close to 70% proficiency as possible. Teaching is a profession that is becoming increasingly difficult for people to stick to. The laws make it hard for new teachers to get the experience they need before becoming burnt out like me!

[antredd]

Originally Posted by delta07

antredd, I am very sympathetic to your situation. After only two years of teaching, I decided to leave the profession because I couldn't deal with the endless work and stress of the job. I really wanted to be a teacher to make a difference, but with all the red tape that teachers are handed, I felt I couldn't make a difference. As someone who never taught before NCLB, I don't know what it was like. I think many veteran teachers are able to stick it out because they remember what teaching was. I applaud you for doing your job and getting your class as close to 70% proficiency as possible. Teaching is a profession that is becoming increasingly difficult for people to stick to. The laws make it hard for new teachers to get the experience they need before becoming burnt out like me!

Yeah, and it's tragic that we can't maintain the number of new teachers that we need to help our students achieve. I guess what keeps me going is the fact that I look at myself in the mirror everyday, and before I go to bed I ask myself did I make a difference in a child's life today, did I enrich a child by listening to him or her and still showing the compassion for them, inspite of the fact that they kids I service don't speak fluent English, are poor, and come from family situations where (if I could) I would take them home with me, and did I inspire them to be successful because I BELIVE THAT ALL OF MY STUDENT CAN BE ? If I can say yes to those questions, then I know I have done my best,and that my students will be better off when they leave my classroom by the end of the school year.

[JBoughton]

Here's an example of another unintended consequence of NCLB:

I teach an advanced placement class in statistics at the high school level. I just finished giving my Unit 2 test, and am noting that my middle to lower level students are doing better with the more basic skills we teach than ever.

But...I'm seeing evidence that my best students are NOT as good higher level critical thinking. Every test I include a question similar to one the AP test questions that few people answer successfully, because it forces students to apply the course content in a unique and creative manner. In my Unit 2 test, I have a short bonus question of this type that a small number (no more than 5 out of 70-90) are able to demonstrate understanding at the highest level. I don't tell the students it's a bonus; I want everyone to make an effort to study and make some sense out of a situation that's literally above their head.

Sadly, this year, even though the mastery of the basic concepts was better than ever, it was the first time that NOBODY was able to successfully answer this question correctly with proper documentation that demonstrated superior understanding.

So what I'm seeing is that while students are getting "back to the basics" as well or better than ever, the lack of understanding on the higher level thinking shows significantly less ability to do so for our AP-level students.

Could it be that our best and brightest are spending so much time getting "the basics" drummed into their heads that something is being lost?

Now you know why I call the law "No Child Gets Ahead".

[hey teach]

NCLB fails to consider that many of our students live in situations that affect their learning processes. These are situations we can do nothing about, yet are still held accountable for when it comes to student achievement.

[TuborgP]

Originally Posted by hey teach

NCLB fails to consider that many of our students live in situations that affect their learning processes. These are situations we can do nothing about, yet are still held accountable for when it comes to student achievement.

Not every sales territory is a rich and lucrative one but if you want to keep your job you still have to produce. Now I suspect many would say that a company is not going to locate a salesperson in a territory without the potential for profitability. Ok if we accept that why doesn't the same apply to schools and wasting tax dollars on kids who are failing for the reason you mention?

[Charles Wallace]

Originally Posted by JBoughton

Here's an example of another unintended consequence of NCLB:

I teach an advanced placement class in statistics at the high school level. I just finished giving my Unit 2 test, and am noting that my middle to lower level students are doing better with the more basic skills we teach than ever.

But...I'm seeing evidence that my best students are NOT as good higher level critical thinking. Every test I include a question similar to one the AP test questions that few people answer successfully, because it forces students to apply the course content in a unique and creative manner. In my Unit 2 test, I have a short bonus question of this type that a small number (no more than 5 out of 70-90) are able to demonstrate understanding at the highest level. I don't tell the students it's a bonus; I want everyone to make an effort to study and make some sense out of a situation that's literally above their head.

Sadly, this year, even though the mastery of the basic concepts was better than ever, it was the first time that NOBODY was able to successfully answer this question correctly with proper documentation that demonstrated superior understanding.

So what I'm seeing is that while students are getting "back to the basics" as well or better than ever, the lack of understanding on the higher level thinking shows significantly less ability to do so for our AP-level students.

Could it be that our best and brightest are spending so much time getting "the basics" drummed into their heads that something is being lost?

Now you know why I call the law "No Child Gets Ahead".

I see the same thing. Our pass rate has remained fairly constant -- that is, the number of people getting a 3 or above on the AP has remained unchanged. What's changed a lot are the numbers of folks getting 4s and 5s. That number has dropped precipitously.

[kek1993]

I am concerned that NCLB ignores the very children the law is supposed to protect, children in special education, because in the concept of LRE, no teachers want SPED kids in their classrooms because of the testing requirments/bonus pay attatched to test scores. So, NCLB is actually decreasing LRE.

I was sick of teaching and left because of the stress, but my new job is just as bad. I thnk that with the economy, employers are actually taking advantage of people, giving them more work than can be done in a day, all of my co-workers work a 60 hour week, and get paid for 40, because of the work load. And if you don't keep up, you are a slow performer. Even though, if you work 40 hours, that should be the "standard". But, when you are compared to people who put in 60/70 hours a week, you better be doing that too. Sorry for going off track.

[antredd]

Originally Posted by Charles Wallace

I see the same thing. Our pass rate has remained fairly constant -- that is, the number of people getting a 3 or above on the AP has remained unchanged. What's changed a lot are the numbers of folks getting 4s and 5s. That number has dropped precipitously.

It could be too that the students of today aren't as interested in having higher critiIcal thinking skills. I have about 4 high achieving kids in my class, and even though I teach 4th grade, I have noticed that many of them like doing the easy work because they can get done faster. But let me try and challenge them; they fight me tooth and nail because they don't want to think out their answers.

I gave a test on mode, median, and outlier, with bar graphs, and double bar graphs. I noticed that only one of my students received a perfect score. The majority of my class were making careless mistakes thus getting the wrong answers to the point that if i would have just graded it, they would have all scored below 50% correct. I was just floored when I gave them the opportunity to go back over their answers, and how many of them didn' twant to do that. They were satisfied with getting a lower score.