Oh English Department - how you conflict me.
Since the beginning of the school year, our department decided that our "common assessment" for term 1 would be on Summary and Main Idea. We decided what stories to use for 7th and 8th grades, we scheduled a week that we each agreed to do the assessment in our classes, and we came up with a plan for helping those students who didn't pass the test. It's all in my notes.
This is the week we chose for the assessment; so Monday's staff meeting comes around, and - well - all heck breaks loose.
We've got arguments about how to score the assignment. We've got arguments about the texts we initially chose. We've got arguments about how we each taught summary and main idea (because we each taught it differently so we're each going to have a different emphasis on our assessments).
Is it bad that I kind of tuned out after the emotions escalated? I did. I jotted down the necessary notes (since I elected to make myself the notetaker of the group. I've got to contribute somewhere, right?), and then just started down my own to-do list until I felt the tension dissipate.
When I spoke with my mentor, he said he was going to set aside several days of class for the assessment: students need a day to read, a day to skim through again and begin the assessment, and another day to finish it off. Since I had only set aside one day for the entire assessment, I panicked and made some last minute changes. That day we read the short story they would be using for their assessment in class. I thought it went well and a beneficial use of time.
I got to school this morning and greeted some of my fellow English teachers. Without being too specific, criticisms were thrown around to all of the teachers in the department and feelings were made known. I was even told that I had polluted the results of this common assessment by reading the story with the students. In addition to that, rumors were spread that the department chair had switched the story the eighth graders were required to read for the assessment.
WHAT IS GOING ON?
The frustration is tangible. I feel like I'm in an educational soap opera.
So I hid in my room for the rest of the morning before school started and was greeted by a friendly English teacher face. "Don't worry about this," she comforted. "Just do what you feel is going to be most beneficial to your students. We're all going to do things differently, and if we need get everyone on a similar page, we need to do it earlier than the week of the test."
Do I know that some of my students aren't going to pass the test? I have some suspicions. But, overall, I am confident in my students. I'm excited to see what they CAN do.
And in regards to the department, I've learned that I may face power struggles. And that's okay. Heaven knows I have strong opinions and make them known often in other areas (not as an intern, when I know that I have very little credibility). But you take it with a grain of salt. Oh is that what you're doing in your class? Maybe I'll give it a try in the future... I'm sure some of these teachers would gawk at the idea that I am doing a genre exploration assignment with my 7th and 8th graders and that I'm focusing on inductive learning, but I'm trying it out for me and my students. I'm willing to get their input, but that doesn't mean that I have to cater to their curriculum ideas.
And, here's the great thing: I have the power to change it if I find a better way. Maybe it will be their way - they have been teaching since "the dinosaurs roamed the earth" (their words, not mine). But maybe I'll get something completely new to really stick too.
Middle school drama - always an adventure, even as an adult!
One of the things I learned while student teaching was that you have to be careful when doing assessments. If you are assessing their reading comprehension, you can't read it aloud with them. Some who can't make meaning when they read it themselves will understand it better when YOU read it to them, with your inflections, etc. So if you are assessing reading comprehension, you've muddied the waters. It's a mistake I made, but, hey, it's a learning experience, right?
ReplyDeleteStacey, it is definitely a learning experience! Thanks for reminding me that I'm not the only one learning... Sometimes it feels like I'm the only one who doesn't have this down yet!
ReplyDeleteOne of the bittersweet things you learn as an intern or first year teacher is that department politics can make things crazy. Each teacher needs to do what is best for their students, but for some teachers certain approaches to teaching and learning seem impossible while for others these same approaches are just standard. Trying to make everyone do everything the same way is almost like saying everyone has to teach at the level of the least competent teacher. Or, maybe it's less about incompetence and more about different teaching/learning styles that don't always mix.
ReplyDeleteYou received some wise advice from that teacher who came in with a little consolation for you. One tricky thing that interns and new teachers quickly find out is that the best laid plans of teachers often go awry because those same issues with procrastination our students have that drive us crazy are issues teachers have as well. Waiting until the week of the test is not an acceptable time to address the assessment issue.
I wish I could say that this was unique to your school, but unfortunately, I cannot. I've heard similar issues in this district, this state, and across the country. I think the trick is figuring out how you are going to do it and providing the rationale for your approach. There might be multiple ways to approach it, but if you can provide the backing for what you're doing, it's way easier to get others to back off.