Disillusionment
The project I work on was recently funded (yay!) to move from elementary schools into middle schools. We're doing a lot of research and talking to a lot of people as we get started. So far, I have gotten the following message:
Elementary schools are a progressive, lovely, functional walk in the park compared to middle and high schools.
I knew this, of course. But, considering the extent and systemic nature of the problem (fragmented school day; overworked teachers with upwards of 100 students to see a day; giant incomprehensible textbooks that schools spend millions of dollars on instead of fixing crumbling buildings; stance that computers are evil rather than a useful tool; laundry list of standards to plow through rather than teaching for actual understanding; over-reliance on high-stakes testing; tracking; remediating students with more reading instruction that doesn't work and replaces content areas like history and science...all combined with the hormone-rampant insanity and total awkwardness that we all remember as a part of being 11-14 years old) is extremely daunting. And, the idea that elementary schools are an ideal context for learning in comparison...just makes me want to cry.
I will post a more detailed and critical analysis at some other point, but for now I am just panicking that somehow we have to figure out how this small shot at the problem we're trying to take is going to work. I have faith that we will figure it out, and I have faith that we'll figure it out before I have to step into an eighth grade classroom (gulp) to teach it in April...but right now I'm wondering if it's even worth trying and kids might just be better off with no secondary schooling at all to screw them up.
I am disabling comments because, as much as I usually enjoy discussing the horrible details of everyone's past educational experiences (seriously, I do), now is not the time, thanks.
Elementary schools are a progressive, lovely, functional walk in the park compared to middle and high schools.
I knew this, of course. But, considering the extent and systemic nature of the problem (fragmented school day; overworked teachers with upwards of 100 students to see a day; giant incomprehensible textbooks that schools spend millions of dollars on instead of fixing crumbling buildings; stance that computers are evil rather than a useful tool; laundry list of standards to plow through rather than teaching for actual understanding; over-reliance on high-stakes testing; tracking; remediating students with more reading instruction that doesn't work and replaces content areas like history and science...all combined with the hormone-rampant insanity and total awkwardness that we all remember as a part of being 11-14 years old) is extremely daunting. And, the idea that elementary schools are an ideal context for learning in comparison...just makes me want to cry.
I will post a more detailed and critical analysis at some other point, but for now I am just panicking that somehow we have to figure out how this small shot at the problem we're trying to take is going to work. I have faith that we will figure it out, and I have faith that we'll figure it out before I have to step into an eighth grade classroom (gulp) to teach it in April...but right now I'm wondering if it's even worth trying and kids might just be better off with no secondary schooling at all to screw them up.
I am disabling comments because, as much as I usually enjoy discussing the horrible details of everyone's past educational experiences (seriously, I do), now is not the time, thanks.