You Changed the What?!?!?

We have a constant need to do better—or we should.  If we don’t try and do new things better than last year then we are not ‘good’ teachers.  We become stagnant in our work.  We become the washout of the school, the teacher no parent or kid wants to be subjected to for a whole year… 

It is your first year teaching fifth grade.  You have taught third grade for four years but you are now moving up in the world to fifth grade.  The last fifth grade teacher retired with much fanfare and many tears from adoring students and parents—and look at that here you are. 

The material you received from him was a jumbled mess.  You know there is a method to his madness, but you cannot for the life of you figure it out.  You do see the big file called “State Projects.”  Youknow about these state projects, they are famous, legendary.  Fifth graders have been completing them for centuries.  There are model projects in this folder from at least 10 different years!  As you plod through the planning of the year you realize a really cool way to integrate this years state project with your science unit.  ‘This is going to be so cool.’ You think to yourself.  In fact, it takes the project to a whole new level.  You spend months building it up in your head and in the minds of your students.  They cannot wait to start.  Finally, in February, you hand out the assignment, rubric, and timeline.  The students have to bring it home to review with their parents and bring it back with a signature that they all understand what is expected. 

Monday morning one student brings it back with a post-it note from his mother “I would really like to speak with you about this project.” The note says.  An email is waiting in your inbox from another parent about your ‘new idea.’  And yet another approaches you at pickup.  The message is the same from each of them:

How can you change this treasured tradition of the fifth grade project?

By now, I am sure you have a similar story from your own experience in mind.  Whether it is changing an assessment, book choice, unit of study, or routine I am sure you have heard people resistant to your change.  Change is uncomfortable, it is unsettling but yet we know we need to keep evolving to thrive in our jobs.

How can we reach a balance with this tension?  When do we need to drop what is comfortable for something new and challenging?  When do we need to maintain routine and structure for the sake of our classes and ourselves?

I think we need to ask ourselves the biggest question of ‘why?’

In the scenario I painted above the new teacher had a need that she was trying to meet.  She was entering a world of unknown trying to make sense for herself—to own the classroom she was about to guide.  Her need was strong and real and she wouldn’t have been able to teach the students well if she didn’t feel in control of the classroom material.  Had she just taken over the jumble of files her year would have been a jumble of lessons. 

Many new teachers starting out feel one of two things.  One new teacher needs to prove to herself and to those around her that she can ‘do it on her own.’  She wants to separate herself from the person who had been there before and prove that she is just as worthy of the position if not more.  She may abandon what has worked in the past for the sake of being ‘different, innovative, creative.’  The other new teacher clings on to what he has seen.  He anchors himself in the known even if he knows it isn’t was is best for his students.  He knows what he would like to do, but is uncomfortable making any changes for fear of failure.

As you can imagine, neither of these teachers are ideal.  As with almost everything in life we teachers need to balance.  We need to balance the old with the new, the innovative and the routine and most importantly we constantly need to be asking ourselves ‘Why am I really doing this?  Is it best for my students?’

So let’s go back to our new fifth grade teacher.  Was she wrong to change the project?  Is she expecting too much changing this beloved project too soon?

She needs to listen to the parents and understand that change is hard and uncomfortable but ultimately if she can answer the ‘why’ with confidence and compassion she is off to a successful start.

What are we assessing?

I just spoke to a teacher about her assessment practices in her middle school classroom.  "How can I assess my students?" she said "I can't place judgement on their work, only they know if they were putting in their full effort or not."  She went on further to explain that "I don't want to define them, they need to learn to measure their own success."

The whole process of grading is so emotional.  It is as if we as people are being judged on our grades, on our test scores, on how well we performed on this one particular test.  Standardized tests have been defining our schools for many years.  We need a way to make sure all fourth graders are achieving at the same level, that no one is falling through the cracks.  But have we gone too far?  Have we reached a tipping point when city budgets are set based on eight year old's scores on a test?

Is there a way to assure that all of our students are achieving without pitting them or ourselves against one another?  Is there a way to help our students learn the value of work without imposing our own definitions of success on them?  Can we assure that all children are learning and growing without making the stakes so high that the success defines their entire being?

I think there is room for a healthy voice in this conversation.  We all strive to be acknowledged, we all need feedback and we all want to know that we have accomplished something.  I firmly believe in authentic assessment.  I think that students, just like adults, need to know when they have accomplished something and how they were successful.  We can give students feedback in an authentic way, judging their work over time and their consolidation of information.  Looking at drafts of work and portfolios of different pieces over time are two ways to allow students to show their own success over time.  Presenting a student with a rubric that shows the criteria we are looking for allows our students to know what they can do to be successful.

Translating this idea to a large scale is where the problem comes in.  It is much easier for a machine to grade standardized tests than to evaluate the progress of a portfolio over time.  This is why we need to trust teachers.  We need to properly prepare  teachers, support them, and trust that they know how to truly assess their own students.  If we know that teachers are properly prepared to give and grade assessments then we can rest assured that our students are getting the proper feedback on their own learning, teachers understand where they need to teach for the children to grow and we can be assured that everyone is on track.