I love being a teacher making a difference in a student's learning! I have fun teaching! I recently read an article: Let Teachers Teach: the dangers of expanding teacher workloads that resonated. This post was originally going to be focussed on report card comments however the "Let Teachers Teach" struck home. The cartoon below came from that article. It aptly depicts the daily challenges of the job! While not all challenges apply in every teaching situation I very much feel for members of my profession who experience all daily.
As a Junior High Math Teacher teaching 3 - Grade 7 and 3 - Grade 8 math classes a day I’m averaging 50 to 55 hours a week. Even still with this much time I don't feel that I am meeting the needs of all my students.
My biggest issue is the complexity and composition of my classes. I have 30 plus students in each class whose abilities range from grade 2 to grade 10 level. A span of two years below and two years above grade level is manageable through differentiated tasks and personalization of learning. There are too many students with major gaps in their learning, too many with high needs (coded and uncoded) for me to be able to regularly get to all students every day in my 51 minute classes.
I teach in a mixed socio-economic school which increases the complexity of the classroom due to poverty, English as a Second Language, and the impacts of drugs, alcohol and trauma. I see/teach 187 students every day if all are present. Usually there will be 1 or 2 students from each class who are habitually absent.
Three of the Challenges depicted in the cartoon above add much to my day taking away from time available to create lessons and tasks to engage students that do not involve the relying on regularly using worksheets and text work.
Truant Kids Three of the Challenges depicted in the cartoon above add much to my day taking away from time available to create lessons and tasks to engage students that do not involve the relying on regularly using worksheets and text work.
- This challenge is two-fold. Truant/habitually absent students require parent contact, follow up and documentation. When you are able to get them to class AWESOME however now they have learning gaps that need to be addressed and in many or most cases the gaps in learning are two or more years below current grade-level. Students with learning gaps often become behavioural issues in the classroom.
- Behaviour issues in the classroom! Frustrating! Daily occurrence. Some people might say that it is not the students but a Classroom Management issue! There are many factors that influence behaviour other than absenteeism and learning gaps including family situation, special needs students. Being diagnosed with special needs or learning disability does not always solve the situation as some parents choose not to medicate their child when recommended or the resources are not available to appropriate support the student's learning needs.
- The complexity of a class of 30+ students that include high needs, low functioning and learning gaps students can negatively impact the learning of 'other' students.
- I agree that differentiated instruction increases engagement but there is a vicious circle in play as many student with learning difficulties or gaps are resistant to doing anything different from those without learning difficulties.
- Using a variety of modalities (visual, auditory and kinesthetic) is recommended but who has the time after making parent contact regarding absenteeism, missing assignments, behaviour etc?
- Academic and Learning Supports - There are recommendations to create a responsible learning environment that supports students with learning difficulties with flexible grouping and pacing, literacy and numeracy specialists and tutoring. In theory wonderful! In reality a teacher sometime has a Classroom assistant.
- Behavioural Supports - ????????
I wonder if I am going to make it to retirement?
