I am currently at home in California, hanging out with my family and thoroughly soaking up the lack of any work I have to do. Every day, I watch obscene amounts of TV, go for walks, sit in the sun, bake and read books that have nothing to do with policy. Ok, the last bit isn't 100% true. I'm currently reading a biography of LBJ, or at least the first volume of one. It's not strictly about policy, but hot damn that man made a lot of policy happen. He was such a bad ass. I used to think if I could have an affair with one President it would be Woodrow Wilson (clearly a sexy man, a Democrat in a sea of Republicans and he created the Fed. Hot.) But as I read this biography...I just don't know.
Anyway, this is not the point of this post. The point is that I am home and have little to nothing to do most days, except for today. Today, I helped out at my mom's school by interviewing 8th graders at their "Portfolio Fair" - they showed me their best work and I asked them questions about it. Well, let me clarify. Some of them showed me their best work. Others showed me folders they had clearly put together earlier that morning. But I absolutely loved it. As much as I hated teaching and was not meant to do it, I do miss hanging out with middle schoolers. They are hilarious and I adore their honesty.
Things I learned from them today:
1. My mom is "cool". Their little faces just lit up when I told them who my mom was. They all gushed about how great she is. Obviously true. This even goes for the little slackers who showed up with their half-done folders. So I also learned from them that this is what a good teacher looks like - even the kids who are not-so-great know that she cares.
I liked all of my teachers. But I was also a goody-goody. Some of them, I know, were not so loved by kids who didn't get their stuff done. That's a decent teacher. A great teacher is one who manages to reach even the kids who don't get their acts together. I have rarely been so proud of my mother as I was today.
2. Math education needs a serious makeover. To be honest, I sort of knew this before...it's sort of my dad's life's work. But you know, this was their chance to show me their absolute best work and brag about all their most creative and interesting projects. I kid you not, every single child showed me some flashcards and said it helped them study for tests. I asked the first few kids if they didn't have a poster or a writing assignment or a bigger project of some kind to share. The response: "No...this is for math class." Right. How dare I expect creativity. And we wonder why kids graduate not wanting to pursue a STEM career.
3. Telling kids "Write 3 paragraphs reflecting on a character trait" is not, in fact, a good way to get kids to build character. You're shocked, I know.
Every kid had to have this little essay talking about their favourite "pillar of character" (part of some program that I'm sure cost the district some insane amount of money) and every single child openly told me "I don't know why we had to do this."
Me neither. But this is something I just don't get about the whole world of education. Both teachers and administrators seem to forget that while adults and children do learn differently in some ways...we're not different in every way. Go to any professional development session, and you'll see a bunch of administrators leading a "learning experience" that they would flunk any teacher in that room for giving to their students. 6 hours of sitting, little to no modeling, certainly no ongoing support. In the same way, who learns new skills or builds new capacity by writing 3 reflective paragraphs? "Responsibility" and "kindness" are not things best learned via structured essays.
4. My shoes are "totes adorbs". Who knew.
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