a little bit of teacher politics

some of my classes have been discussing policy lately. these classes required me to watch Waiting For Superman, a documentary on the broken public education system. while there are many themes and controversies surrounding this piece of media, i will not debate about them. that is simply not my nature. 

but...

i do want to document my thoughts, and the thoughts of my sweet husband. for starters, i've been ranting about education and policies for a while now. although i am no politician, i do have strong opinions about education. so drake has been listening to my raves for some time. one major concern, of course, being about No Child Left Behind. to sum my thoughts up, teachers are being pressured into teaching "to the standardized test" and left with very limited creative outlets. the standardized testing ensures that all children receive the same, or fair, curriculum and allows the government data to review about every child's scores... but the problem is, not every child learns the same! 

i've heard it put that NCLB is an idea created by Mother Teresa and implemented by Hitler. it just doesn't make sense. and the stats have shown more students below grade level over the past ten years. why? i firmly believe it's because teachers are being more limited and socialized. 

a teacher can't teach the "same" or "fair" curriculum to every one of her students! that's ridiculous! she may have a class with ESL (English Second Language) students, or students with disabilities, or truly gifted and talented students... if she teaches the same thing to everyone, and expects everyone to meet that "grade-level-goal" regardless of actual "growth," then she fails many students. some students will never catch up and some students will forever be bored. a teacher needs freedom within her classroom to give each student individual plans to help them grow. 

that's enough politics for me. i'm just always complaining that there may be someone telling me how to teach that doesn't know one thing about who is actually in my room! 

this is why i have a sweet spot for the Montessori Method. after my two summers experience in Montessori classrooms and surrounded by those students, i am in love. although it is private schooling, i see the benefits. i appreciate my experiences because my eyes have been opened. i do not believe private schooling is better than public, only that it all rests upon a teacher. and in private schooling right now, teachers have as much freedom as they want to teach however they feel is best. from what i saw, this meant more hands-on learning, more engaging lessons, more individualized attention, and less focus on teaching to a standardized test. i saw genius children. but what i mostly saw was children that loved school. they loved to read. they loved to act. they loved science experiments. they loved asking questions. and they loved to come to school. that is what i fell in love with. those students have been given an invaluable gift that will last them forever. and it's because of the way they were taught. 

again, i don't think public schools are all bad. in my opinion, i just feel that the education system is broken and needs some changes to actually be effective. 

so what has been on my mind so much lately, is how i want to teach. no matter where i am teaching, i want to be that teacher that inspires children to love learning. i want my class to be engaging, educational, and individualized for each group of kids each year. i want to have the ability to teach my below-grade-level students in a way that i see growth in them. i don't want to worry about losing my job if they don't make it to grade-level, but i want to worry if they are actually stretching and growing at a pace they are comfortable and happy with. i want to challenge my gifted students in a way that they are never bored in my classroom. i want them to reach heights beyond the limits of staying within grade-level. i just want to be a good teacher and make some sort of difference in a few lives of children. 

i love getting my education from BYU because we tie the gospel in every single day. time and time again in the gospel we are taught how eternal the concept of education is. 

Alma 37:35 "O, remember, my son, and learn wisdom in thy youth; yea, learn in thy youth to keep the commandments of God."

Proverbs 1:5 "A wise man will hear, and will increase learning; and a man of understanding shall attain unto wise counsels."

Doctrine and Covenants 90:15 "And set in order the churches, and study and learn, and become acquainted with all good books, and with languages, tongues, and people."

Brigham Young quoted, “I shall not cease learning while I live, nor when I arrive in the spirit-world, and when I again receive my body, I shall still continue my researches.”

Speech by Henry B. Eyring "A Child of God"

i love that as i go to every class, we tie in these principles. educating the children of God is an important task, and it does require a lot of hard work and a lot of responsibility, but i am so up to this task. somehow i will find a way to mold my beliefs about education and love for the methods of maria montessori into a way that i feel is making a good difference in the lives of children. 

but another thing i wanted to remember is the wonderful discussions these classes have led me to have with my sweet husband. we agree on this very important issue that will affect the lives of our children one day. he supports me in my beliefs and encourages me to continue doing what i'm doing. he even told me i am smart about these things. and that's a compliment from him. he even supports my huge and distant aspiration of maybe, one day, opening a private school of some sorts where i can teach all the things i believe to be important in a way that is the most beneficial. that is a just a dream, and the biggest deterrent is my lack of belief in myself, but he tells me he knows i could do it and do it well. i love how the conversations are thoughtful and provoking, and i love how we draw closer together in thinking about a future family. 

watching that documentary filled my mind these thoughts and more. i sat on my couch and cried because we witnessed the heartbreak of several mothers in failing school districts that were trying to get their children the best education possible, and sadly in some areas, it's just very hard to find. i literally got on my knees and prayed for those mothers out there searching for a better education for their children. it sparked a flame in my heart that i could at least make a difference in 20-30 students lives a year. and that may be all i can do right now. but i felt that spiritual confirmation again, that i've felt time and time again in my life, that being a teacher is what my Heavenly Father had prepared for me to do. i've never felt so much passion for anything in my life. i am dedicated to be the best i can be, and to never cease from bettering myself each year. my heart really does swell with warmth and determination when i imagine my future as a teacher. i know that i am in the right place, on this path to becoming a teacher. i love that i have this opportunity to learn that from BYU. i had to write this paper on the Education in Zion Exhibit on campus, and i've returned to it multiple times to boost myself and remember how important learning is. for anyone that's interested, a link to that is here, but it's mostly for my own remembrance of my experiences at BYU and my views on learning. 

this has been a long, passionate venting session. but once again, successful therapy.