NCSS 2010

I attended the National Council for the Social Studies Annual Conference in Denver today and, at the risk of sounding like a crank, I can’t help but think about how disappointed I am in some of my own colleagues. Not the speakers that I saw, I am very impressed and sometimes even inspired (rare for me) by them…even if they aren’t any good, I’m impressed by their effort. I am disappointed by my colleagues in the questions they ask and the attitudes they carry.

In nearly every session I attended, at least one person would raise their hand and ask: “What standard does this cover?” Standards: An obsession in the world of education. An obsession that should not be one at all. Standards take the focus away from the student and put it on what the average student should be learning. We then test standards using (aptly named) “standardized tests” to measure percentages of which students are hitting the benchmarks and which ones aren’t. Teachers’ jobs then become dependent upon hitting high percentages and teachers therefore become obsessed with teaching standards rather than actually teaching the kids. I don’t want to say that teachers who obsess about standards are bad teachers, but I do believe they are more concerned about keeping their jobs than doing their jobs. That being said, it is odd to me that a very enthusiastic presenter with very great ideas can be instantly marginalized by a colleague who asks: “how well are the standards being covered?” That all being said, I found a new hero in a presenter today who when confronted with that very question answered: “Probably not very well, but I don’t think that matters.”

The other annoying attitude is quite simply a failure of creativity. I have often noticed that my fellow teachers do not want to create lessons themselves. Now, I should probably be clear. These conferences are great for getting ideas from colleagues and for looking at teaching from new perspectives. However, too many teachers want cookie-cutter lessons that they can easily use in their own classrooms. They seem unwilling even to take good idea and to adapt it. It is an “accept or reject” mentality rather than a “what can I learn from this?” mentality. This rigidity will not benefit our students when lessons must be adapted for every class we teach.

I often feel alone in my disdain for standards and my unwillingness to adhere to them. And while I can criticize with the best of them, at the very least I am able to focus on the positives. Events like this usually serve to convince me that I am probably a bit of an outsider in the teaching profession. I, for one, enjoyed the conference and the presenters that I saw…I’m just not sure I enjoyed the crowd.

Teaching is an interesting job...

I teach high school social studies. I enjoy doing it, and I'm guessing I'll be at it for a long time. I think I'm good at it, but I am not exactly sure...I'm not convinced one can ever be sure.

This blog is not an attempt to show the world how great I am or to impart great wisdom upon my colleagues. It is simply my attempt at finding out what kind of teacher I am, and how I can be better.

If you are at all interested in education, I encourage you to write me. Perhaps we can discourse on the state of American Education. Perhaps we can share ideas. Perhaps we can both learn something.