My Passions
I am passionate about developing my students into lifelong learners who desire to find out more about the world around them and not just stay isolated in their own little area. I want them to be able to think for themselves and use the knowledge that’s up for grabs around them to make good decisions in their lives. We, as teachers, should be passing along more than just the knowledge of our subject area. We need to be preparing them for their futures no matter what that may look like. Some of the jobs that our students may have in the future haven’t even been thought of yet, so they need to be prepared for all the possibilities of what is to come.
One of the best things that we could do for our students is to teach them about the growth mindset. I have students who get discouraged quite often when they don’t understand fully what is being taught in my class. I teach algebra in high school, so that isn’t a new story for me. I have to remind them that they just don’t understand it yet. Everything is a work in progress. You have the ability to grow better as time goes on. If we can promote a growth mindset, this will help students know that failures don’t define them, but help them grow into fuller people instead.
My Thoughts on Digital Learning
Digital learning needs to be more widely used in education. Our students are fully immersed in technology almost from the beginning of their lives. Small kids are able to take a phone or tablet to run their favorite games or watch videos and shows. We need to find ways to integrate technology more into our classrooms because students have access to knowledge at their fingertips as long as they are taught how to properly seek it. Technology could really help teachers to develop classes that are interactive and give students more choice and ownership in how they learn. Differentiation would truly be where it needs to be to help our students learn in their own ways if we can find or develop the tools to make it happen.
There are some issues that come up though with digital learning as well. Teachers aren’t given much training when it comes to using technology in the classroom. New tools are bought from time to time, but we aren’t always told how to go about using them effectively. Students must also be closely monitored while on technology to make sure that they are on task instead of sneaking around to play games or posting to social media. Technology isn’t always fully available to everyone either. I am lucky to work for a school district that has one-to-one devices for our secondary students, but they don’t always have internet access at home to finish assignments. Some schools don’t even have that much, so digital learning is pretty much impossible.
Cons of our Current Education System
One of the biggest challenges that I see in my classroom is that the learning standards that are set for us need to be reevaluated. In 2012, the state of Texas released its latest math standards. I remember going to a workshop and being completely floored by what had been done with the standards. Things that I had been teaching in Algebra 1 were suddenly dropped down as far as 6th grade. Topics in pre-calculus were now in algebra 1. I have a problem with this. A big part of our students simply aren’t developmentally ready to handle certain types of math at the ages that they are being taught them now. I know that soon the state will be changing our standards up again, but I’m afraid that it will be even worse than it is now. People making the decisions about our education system don’t have experience in education, so I can’t see things getting better.
This leads me into my next concern. Starting in third grade, Texas students are made to take the STAAR test. We have to make sure to teach all of the standards for our grade level before a particular point in time so that students can take this big test which could possibly hold you back in school if you’re in fifth or eighth grade. Instead of getting to teach enriching lessons that help the students to truly understand the concept the correct way, teachers have to speed through topics before students can even comprehend what is going on. I frequently have students that are asking me to slow down or why we have to move so fast. I just have to tell them because I know the pace I have to keep in order to get everything taught before the STAAR test comes around. I despise having to leave some of my students behind that don’t fully grasp a concept before I move on. Another thing that happens due to the amount of importance that’s placed on these standardized tests is that some teachers only teach what’s on the test. I make sure to teach all of the components of a particular topic, but I do mention things that are frequently on the STAAR test and strategies that can be used to handle them. All of this focus on standardized testing leads to less creativity being allowed in the classroom.
The Impact I Hope to Make
I hope to be a teacher that students can look to as a support when they need it. One of my greatest joys in teaching is to see a student that has been struggling on a topic finally have that “aha” moment when it all clicks. I want to be able to help them develop into a future leader of innovation. I’m trying to find a way to bring more choice, ownership, voice, and authentic learning to my classroom because I am seeing in this program how COVA really helps a student to learn. It will be a work in progress, but I hope to figure it out soon.
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