After
reviewing this past week’s themes, I can’t help but think about my favorite
hobby—scrapbooking. Now, it is true that
as soon as I get done typing this post, I will be going to my first scrapbook
retreat of the year, so I my mind is a little preoccupied, but the readings
connect. I swear.
After
reading through Eisner’s article, he mentioned the way our schools are scheduled
and I instantly thought about my district’s 81 minute, one semester
blocks. Eisner brilliantly noted that the
time table most schools employ has created an unintentional lesson and has
taught some of our “students not to get too involved in what they do because to
become too involved is to court frustration when time runs out” (95). I completely agree and see it in my own
classrooms.
In a way it
is ironic: Here we are complaining about how our students can’t focus for a
long duration of time, and yet in a way, we are to blame because we are
shuffling students from class to class on a very strict time table.
And this really
does connect to my love of scrap-booking.
I only scrapbook when I know I will have the time to work on it. It is not worth my energy to get started on a
scrapbook page if I know I will only have 30 minutes to do it, and do it well. Now granted, this is a hobby, and there are
some vital differences between school curriculum and my sticker obsession, but
I can really see this conflict with my own students. I want them to workshop on papers in class,
but by the time we go over the notes, and get students on computers, I can
always see a group of them stop working and they will often tell me, “I only
have 15 minutes left, so why bother?”
Now I know this
is a teachable moment, and I do see the value in the time frames we are giving
students and how it can teach punctuality, but this week’s readings make me
think about the quality vs. quantity of learning our students get within
our current education system.
In the
videos by Mulgan and Mitra, we saw new different explorations of school
structure, and it makes wonder instead of rushing through all of these required
classes everyday for 81 minutes and moving them onto a new semester and even
more classes, what if we slowed down, got more specific, and ask students to take
the time to really hone in on something and do it well?
I know I
can craft beautiful scrapbook pages when I have the time to sit down and do it,
and I have gotten a lot better since I first started, and that was mostly due
to the collaboration of other scrappers like myself. Is there a way we can do the same for our
students? It’s a huge, complex question, but it does make me wonder…
10/7/13: So I completely forgot to add my extra resource on this issue--so here it is! I found the NEA's take on the block schedule and enjoyed reading the pro/cons especially being a teacher who works on a block schedule already. I also liked reading about the trimester plan and have never seen that schedule before. I am curious what schedule teachers prefer the most or what schedule the majority of our schools use to date.
Block Schedule
10/7/13: So I completely forgot to add my extra resource on this issue--so here it is! I found the NEA's take on the block schedule and enjoyed reading the pro/cons especially being a teacher who works on a block schedule already. I also liked reading about the trimester plan and have never seen that schedule before. I am curious what schedule teachers prefer the most or what schedule the majority of our schools use to date.
Block Schedule
Hi. I have to agree with your idea of the issue of time scheduling in our schools. I came from a high school with block scheduling, made of up of 120 minute class periods. While it is a long time for kids to focus, this was always a positive aspect for me as a student. The 120 minute long class periods offered a longer focus period and was perfect for working on projects in the classroom. I feel that class was more meaningful and topics could be discussed more in-depth and for longer amounts of time. In between classes we were allowed ten minute breaks to switch out materials, get a drink, and use the bathroom. In my senior year of high school the school switched to 60 minute class periods. We were allotted five minutes in between classes to switch books and materials from our lockers and to use the bathroom. I did not like this scheduling at all. It seemed as if I would get settled into class and when everyone would finally be focused and on task, the bell would ring and it would be time to race to another class. The five minute time allotment was never enough time for me to get organized, and I had major anxiety about being late to my next class. This aspect resulted in me holing my bladder throughout most of high school, not the healthiest idea. I know that I myself as a learner learn better when there is not time limit and I know that I am not alone in this area.
ReplyDeleteHello Amber,
ReplyDeleteI strongly agree with thoughts on the time commitment as well. I am a Reading Intervention Teacher now, but before this position I was taught middle school Language Arts. At my place of employment, they are very strict on the curriculum and what they want you to do throughout the week. I remember feeling as though I was rushing from one thing to the next, just to fit it all in. The students even complained that they needed more time but I had to make sure I was doing what was expected of me, instead of what was best for the students. I finally got to the point where I couldn't take it anymore. I wanted to spend more time on the reading pieces if nothing else; focusing on fluency, comprehension, having deeper conversations, and extending the themes of each unit. Now that I teach intervention, I feel that I can spend more time on a reading piece but I have so many other objectives that I did to cover. I think no matter the position you are in, you are always going to feel like there isn't enough time in the day to fit in all the things that need to be done. I always have to tell myself to breathe and then I make a list of to-do's :)
I can definitely see your connection with scrapbooking or any hobby that takes a lot of time and dedication. I really enjoy cooking, exploring cooking, and sewing. I received a sewing machine 2 years ago for Christmas and still have yet to find time to dedicate when I know I can "sit down and be doing it for a while" without having something else I need to be doing. Now I am in grad school, so it may be another year or so.
The videos that we watched were very inspiring and I mentioned in my post that I would love to teach at a Studio School.
Hi Amber,
ReplyDeleteYou make a really good argument here. I agree that it is frustrating to dig into something and then be prematurely forced out of the process. I have also seen this frustration in students and have too heard remarks such as “we only have 10 minuets left, why bother?” However, I am not sure that longer classes or a block schedule is the solution.
To start, what is the expense of longer classes? Well, it seems inevitable that some classes get cut out or are only taken one semester a year. Cutting classes out is dangerous though, because, as Eisner (2001) pointed out, the null curriculum makes a powerful statement. Having a students take a class one semester for a long period of time as opposed to two semesters at half the time is also risky. Students learn through repeated interaction. If they only interact with science half of the year, I fear that retention will decrease.
I do agree that students need more time to ‘dig in’ though. Perhaps a viable solution is to have a curriculum that is ‘cross-cutting.’ That is, where students encounter similar topics in multiple subjects a day. This illustrates the importance of topics, builds investment in content areas, and, perhaps with the aid of a cross-curriculum project, gives students something to focus on all day.
What are your thoughts? To be honest, this is a concept I have been toying with lately and would love to hear what you think about it.
Thank you,
Edward Nelson
This is probably one of the toughest questions to ponder...I just don't know! There are so many pros/cons to every time schedule out there. I do know that I am not a fan of the one semester/long block because I have seen student have huge retention issues, like you mentioned, where they put all of their English classes back to back early and are done with English by their junior year, or they have all summer and then all fall to forget their English skills from the year before.
DeleteI am curious about the idea of cross-cutting and think it may help students see that the different core subjects should not be learned in a vacuum.
Amber,
ReplyDeleteI totally see the connection to scrapbooking--makes total sense! Your argument here is compelling. It seems clear that there is a problem with time in schooling...seems like there is never enough. And, as you recount here, I'm sure we've all had those moments when things are really starting to get good, students are really digging in, and then the bell rings. It is certainly frustrating for everyone, as you note! So, I wonder, with you, what are some possible solutions to this time problem. The block schedule you recommend is one idea. However, it is not without it's difficulties as, in my experience, this usually means that students are each block every other day which can create a bit of a continuity problem. It does, however, give you enough time every other day to really deeply engage. Perhaps a format similar to what Edward suggests, above, where there are cross-curricular modules that students work on throughout the day in their various subject-matter classes? This might be akin, in some ways, to Mulgan's Studio Schools where curricula revolve around praxis-oriented projects that cut across disciplinary boundaries. In all of these examples, and I'm sure there are many more, we have to ask what is gained? And, also, what is lost? But, in my mind, the chief question here is the one you ask about quality vs. quantity. Is there a way for us design school in way that does not sacrifice one for the other? Can we find a way to get the deep, comprehensive, focused study AND get an expansive enough breadth to make sure that students are well rounded? How can we make this happen?
When I lived in the UK, I met people from around the world and was intrigued by all the different configurations of "school". I remember feeling jealous of peers who were able to specialize in their favorite subjects as early as age 12 because of their comprehensive knowledge of the subject...far beyond what I would have at their level. But, having the jealousy wane when, faced with writing their first essays, seeing these same friends freak out a little bit because they hadn't really written since age 12 because they were doing science all the time. I guess what I'm suggesting is that it is really tough to figure out which approach might be best. Or, perhaps what is really called for is for us to figure out, not what is best, but what works for us, our students, and their families. Maybe "best" is context-specific. But, that won't keep me from wondering with you about how to best spend our time in school and what are the things most important to learn during that time.
amanda
Hey Amber,
ReplyDeleteYour post really stuck out to be and helped remind me of the intentionality that is so crucial to teaching. I love that you discussed "quality vs. quantity of learning", because I feel that is what is so missed in education today. We have so many things to teach our students that we skim the surface and do not teach for the quality and depth of understanding. I can see this evident in my classroom, because I have fourth grade students who cannot identify parts of speech, as simple as noun and verb. I believe that this comes down to the intentionality of teaching, which is something that my principal has mentioned several times. Her challenge to us is to always be intentional about teaching. She gave us this example, "If you take even five minutes a day wasted on meaningless instruction you are wasting around thirty minutes a week and two hours a month." Even those two hours can mean the difference for a kid to gain proficiency. Now, she understands that situations happen and students need breaks, but it was just a quick example to show us that our teaching needs to be quality and that will make the difference in the lives of our students. When a student has a deeper understanding of a concept is when they are truly learning, and where the quality understanding comes in. She ended our staff meeting with this, "Our kids depend on you each and every day. They look up to you and their parents trust you with their child's education. Will you be that intentional teacher?" Your post was phenomenal and a great reminder. Thank you!
---Lauren