Since I've entered the field of education, there has been a great deal of talk about changes taking place. Theoretically speaking, secondary teachers are not simply expected to "teach to the exam" (I'm sure this was never officially the policy, but it was, in fact, the practice for many teachers). Rather than focusing on evaluation via standardized testing, teachers are now to focus their efforts on getting students to successfully fulfill a number of prescribed learning outcomes for every course they take. Also, particularly around my school district, there is a big focus on Assessment for Learning (rather than evaluation of learning), where teachers take in assignments and look at them to learn what they need to focus on more in future lessons, and students receive analogous, non-evaluative feedback so they can focus their efforts on improving specific facets of the skills they are expected to acquire. Most of these outcomes are concerned with skills and concepts rather than the memorization and rote regurgitation of facts and figures. No longer are teacher expected to get students to memorize a series of facts to be recalled for a trivia-laden final exam. Nope... the concepts are the key.
Although this philosophical shift has been taking place in the theoretical environment, the fact remained that students were expected to take a standardized examination for most subjects at the end of their schooling (particularly in high school). In order to graduate and put oneself in a position to go on to college, a student had to successfully write a standardized provincial exam in all core subjects in order to be considered for any post-secondary programs and, in reality, graduation as well. For many subjects, a large portion of the test would likely be fact-recall based (particularly in history/biology). If you failed the final and the average of the final and the school mark were below that infamous 50%, no credit was given. So, the problem remained that the theoretical talk of concepts was overshadowed by a need to perform on a standardized examination. Again, this is somewhat specific to the course, but was a reality all the same.
Another part of the problem was seen to be the relevancy of the exams in general. In the OK Valley, only about 15-20% of high school students are attending post-secondary programs after graduating high school (college and university included). So the question being begged is this: why should students who have no plans to go on to post-secondary education be forced to write standardized academic examinations if they were successful in completing the learning outcomes for the course as designated by their classroom teacher? Also, the pressure issue was also in question... if students can satisfactorily complete the outcomes for the course as designated by their classroom teacher, why should the province require them to write an extremely stressful marathon-length exam in order to prove they deserve the mark they've received? This was even more so the case because the skills and concepts being taught might not connect with the content of the provincial exam at all. The Ministry of Education in BC thought long and hard about this and they came up with a response: students were no longer required to take provincial exams (other than English Language Arts 12 and BC First Nations Studies 12).
Now, the recommendation still stood that if, in fact, students were expecting at ANY point to attend university or college anywhere, they should still write the provincial exam in all of their examinable subjects. The reason was that universities and colleges still required a combined mark of the classroom grade and the grade from the provincial exam in any relevant subjects in order to be considered for admission. Also, since ambitions and attitudes about education changes in the minds of young adults, they were generally encouraged all around for anyone with the ability or interest to go on to post-secondary studies.
Even more interesting is the change that took place this week. The University of Victoria, my alma mater, recently published this notification on their website which states that the writing of any optional BC provincial exams is no longer required for entrance into the university. If an exam was still required for completion of the course (English 12 and First Nations 12), then the blended mark would be needed and accepted. Otherwise, the higher mark of either the classroom grade or the blended exam/classroom grade would be taken as the application grade for the course for non-mandatory exams. In essence, students could bomb their Bio/Chem/History 12 finals and as long as they performed well in class, they'd be fine (again, if they were only planning to attend UVic).
Now, this has some big implications for students and teachers around the province. Although I haven't been able to come close to sorting them all out, it will still cause quite a big stir. An interesting thing is that no other universities or colleges (to my knowledge) in BC have changed other than UVic... UBC Vancouver just recently rejected the possible amendment to admissions but apparently the vote was quite close.
My first worry is about transitioning to university. If writing those big standardized exams is no longer required, I'm worried that some students may crash and burn under the pressure of testing that takes place in university. Those people who have attended university know that class sizes are often large and impersonal, learning if generally a self-directed pursuit, and exams are based solely on lectures, reading assignments, and personal research. At least, that was my experience.
Another curiosity... are these bureaucratic changes going to have any effect on the way universities run classes or test students? My first response is a vehement NO. Since most university profs have no training in the teaching of their subject (but uber-amounts of training in the study of their subject), are they really going to change the tried and true format of lecture, assign readings, evaluate on examinuation? Again, my personal thoughts are, well, it's not likely. However, I also didn't think that university admin would aquiesce to the changes made by the Ministry of Ed here in BC.
I think I'm just curious about what the talk is going to be like around the schools... I think there's going to be a big division among teachers on how they are going to take the news.
As for me, I think I'm a bit ambivalent. I guess I'll just wait to see how it all comes out in the wash...
T
Thursday, December 13, 2007
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
Funny mid-week adventure
Being a TOC is always an adventure in written communication. The art of interpretation should never be underestimated. What seems simple may not be. What may be implied may be completely incorrect. And as a teacher friend reminded me... to "assume" means to make an "ass" out of "u" and "me".
Here's the story.
I received an email from S (the teacher I'm in for) relating to today's lessons a few nights ago. In the email, she attached the lesson plans for today. I've been in for her a few times previously, and since it was a requested day, she typically sends me the notes for the day ahead of time.
They were in a Word document, so I opened it up and perused the events for the day... on the left-hand side of the document, there were directions for the Dynamics 8 class (low English ability) that she teaches. I assumed that, since they were on the left hand side of the page, that I was going to teach that class first. Normally there's a piece of paper laying out the blocks for me, but since I know S and I've been in for her before, I guess the office staff didn't think it was a big deal. On the right hand side of the page were the directions for her AP Lit class (obviously in the afternoon in the second block).
Now, last time I was in, the Dynamics kids were only in the room for 1/2 the block (meaning the class was linear). On this school's schedule, the linear block would flipflop time schedules with another linear block. Last time, I taught the Dynamics kids in the first half and had a prep in the second. There was another teacher in for a Socials class, so I had to find somewhere else to work... yay for prep time. Again, I assumed that I'd likely teach the Dynamics class in the second half of the block.
So, first thing this morning, I was sitting in the room getting organized and a number of older students came in. Since I was kicked out of the room last time when another class entered, and since the Dynamics class is linear and only had 1/2 the block in the class with me, I assumed (in my infinite wisdom) that I needed to vacate the class and went to the staff room to work on the marking. I relaxed, drank some coffee, talked with another English teacher and marked some assignments.
I had to pick up some other books from her shelves so I could keep marking, so I went back to her room. I walked in and it was pretty empty (strange, since there was a full SS class in there last time). The first student that saw me asked, "Are you our sub?" Startled, I asked what class it was. The young lad responded by saying, "This is Ms. G's AP Lit Class."
As shocked as I was, I tried to explain the situation (i.e. the total miscommunication) as best as I could and ran back to the staff room to get my materials. Upon returning, I took a, "So, who was here at the beginning of class" attendance and got them working on their assignment. Apologizing profusely, I asked all the students to come back at the end of the block to let me know they were here. I also went on a spy mission with a couple of the students to figure out who was there after break and who checked in and then went missing again. It was espionage at it's most brutal, and our mission only returned satisfactory results.
I really only had a couple of students that were completely MIA, but needless to say it was an adventurous morning. It's kinda disheartening that something so ridiculous has already happened, particularly since it's only Wednesday! I can only hope that the rest of the day/week goes better. Hope ya'll are doing better than I! And remember, never assume... anything...
T
Here's the story.
I received an email from S (the teacher I'm in for) relating to today's lessons a few nights ago. In the email, she attached the lesson plans for today. I've been in for her a few times previously, and since it was a requested day, she typically sends me the notes for the day ahead of time.
They were in a Word document, so I opened it up and perused the events for the day... on the left-hand side of the document, there were directions for the Dynamics 8 class (low English ability) that she teaches. I assumed that, since they were on the left hand side of the page, that I was going to teach that class first. Normally there's a piece of paper laying out the blocks for me, but since I know S and I've been in for her before, I guess the office staff didn't think it was a big deal. On the right hand side of the page were the directions for her AP Lit class (obviously in the afternoon in the second block).
Now, last time I was in, the Dynamics kids were only in the room for 1/2 the block (meaning the class was linear). On this school's schedule, the linear block would flipflop time schedules with another linear block. Last time, I taught the Dynamics kids in the first half and had a prep in the second. There was another teacher in for a Socials class, so I had to find somewhere else to work... yay for prep time. Again, I assumed that I'd likely teach the Dynamics class in the second half of the block.
So, first thing this morning, I was sitting in the room getting organized and a number of older students came in. Since I was kicked out of the room last time when another class entered, and since the Dynamics class is linear and only had 1/2 the block in the class with me, I assumed (in my infinite wisdom) that I needed to vacate the class and went to the staff room to work on the marking. I relaxed, drank some coffee, talked with another English teacher and marked some assignments.
I had to pick up some other books from her shelves so I could keep marking, so I went back to her room. I walked in and it was pretty empty (strange, since there was a full SS class in there last time). The first student that saw me asked, "Are you our sub?" Startled, I asked what class it was. The young lad responded by saying, "This is Ms. G's AP Lit Class."
As shocked as I was, I tried to explain the situation (i.e. the total miscommunication) as best as I could and ran back to the staff room to get my materials. Upon returning, I took a, "So, who was here at the beginning of class" attendance and got them working on their assignment. Apologizing profusely, I asked all the students to come back at the end of the block to let me know they were here. I also went on a spy mission with a couple of the students to figure out who was there after break and who checked in and then went missing again. It was espionage at it's most brutal, and our mission only returned satisfactory results.
I really only had a couple of students that were completely MIA, but needless to say it was an adventurous morning. It's kinda disheartening that something so ridiculous has already happened, particularly since it's only Wednesday! I can only hope that the rest of the day/week goes better. Hope ya'll are doing better than I! And remember, never assume... anything...
T
Sunday, December 09, 2007
Welcome weekend (and a countdown to Christmas)
K and I just walked in from the gym. It's been approximately two weeks since we've actually done a lot of core and weight work, so today was our day to get in there and flex the pecs and abs and see if we could get back on the train. Even though I was panting throughout the routine, we made it through without any injuries and actually did most of the stuff we would typically do, so I guess that means it wasn't a total loss.
In reality, making it to the gym at all on a Sunday is a victory in itself.
I didn't work very much this week, but it seemed tiring nonetheless. I've been fighting off the early stages of a cold for about 8 days now, and even though it hasn't become much worse, it hasn't improved a massive amount and it's kinda taking away from my energy. I did two days at the end of the week for a teacher I've been in for a number a times, and I absolutely love teaching her class... her kids are really great, they respond really well to me, and they're never really high maintenance. Still... I was exhausted when I left yesterday. I found out some really interesting job-related stuff at the end of the day, but I'm going to postpone any discussion about work opportunities until I actually hear something concrete that goes beyond intention and gossip.
K and I have been keeping busy for the most part. We had her staff Christmas party at a really nice hotel last week, and we went out to see a friend of ours play (he's in a two-man band and is a phenomenal guitar player) at a local pub this past Friday. We also saw another band called the Hot Chochies, who play a sort of surfer-rock that seem to be inspired from both Sublime and the artists who sang "Wipeout", who were really good. I am now officially finished with my fall rec-league volleyball, but our team has registered in a tournament for next weekend, and I'm coaching at our local club team tryouts for about 4 hours later this afternoon. Then, K and I are heading to Salmon Arm on Wednesday Night to attend a play at the Caravan Farm Theatre... they're peforming King Lear, which I've never seen live. It's also an interesting venue for the winter shows... you're put on horse-drawn carriages and pulled around to different locations where the scenes are performed. I saw a performance of the Tell-Tale Heart last year with some students from my old sponsor school, and it was wonderful. That, and free hot chocolate... what could be better?
And work has been great lately... I keep meeting a tonne of awesome teachers at various schools (one of whom I'll be working with for my club coaching this year and who will be an awesome mentor), the kids are still really great (I had two students who knew I was teaching for their regular teacher on Thursday and Friday who left notes for me saying that they were disappointed that they'd miss me! I also had one who was late for class, who knew I was in, and bribed me with a slushie so I wouldn't put her on my very fake "Bad List"), and I am really finding myself comfortable at a number of different schools. I worried about this at the start of the year... I'm not generally that good at being a stranger in a new environment, and I absolutely loved my sponsor school last year during my practicum and didn't think I'd find another place I'd love as much, so that's been reassuring.
Lastly, I'm getting really excited to head home for Christmas. It's going to be an insane amount of driving (splitting Christmas between families is always an adventure)... I think we'll probably be in the car for approximately 30-35 hours in about 10 days, which doesn't thrill me so much, but I'm just excited to see everyone and have some time to goof off. We always try to cram more stuff in every year, and this year is no exception... after heading back to Alberta for about a week, we're trying to make it out to the Island for a few days to see some family and friends back there. Yes, this means more driving. But, gotta see 'em... it's been far too long, and the ocean is calling my name.
T
In reality, making it to the gym at all on a Sunday is a victory in itself.
I didn't work very much this week, but it seemed tiring nonetheless. I've been fighting off the early stages of a cold for about 8 days now, and even though it hasn't become much worse, it hasn't improved a massive amount and it's kinda taking away from my energy. I did two days at the end of the week for a teacher I've been in for a number a times, and I absolutely love teaching her class... her kids are really great, they respond really well to me, and they're never really high maintenance. Still... I was exhausted when I left yesterday. I found out some really interesting job-related stuff at the end of the day, but I'm going to postpone any discussion about work opportunities until I actually hear something concrete that goes beyond intention and gossip.
K and I have been keeping busy for the most part. We had her staff Christmas party at a really nice hotel last week, and we went out to see a friend of ours play (he's in a two-man band and is a phenomenal guitar player) at a local pub this past Friday. We also saw another band called the Hot Chochies, who play a sort of surfer-rock that seem to be inspired from both Sublime and the artists who sang "Wipeout", who were really good. I am now officially finished with my fall rec-league volleyball, but our team has registered in a tournament for next weekend, and I'm coaching at our local club team tryouts for about 4 hours later this afternoon. Then, K and I are heading to Salmon Arm on Wednesday Night to attend a play at the Caravan Farm Theatre... they're peforming King Lear, which I've never seen live. It's also an interesting venue for the winter shows... you're put on horse-drawn carriages and pulled around to different locations where the scenes are performed. I saw a performance of the Tell-Tale Heart last year with some students from my old sponsor school, and it was wonderful. That, and free hot chocolate... what could be better?
And work has been great lately... I keep meeting a tonne of awesome teachers at various schools (one of whom I'll be working with for my club coaching this year and who will be an awesome mentor), the kids are still really great (I had two students who knew I was teaching for their regular teacher on Thursday and Friday who left notes for me saying that they were disappointed that they'd miss me! I also had one who was late for class, who knew I was in, and bribed me with a slushie so I wouldn't put her on my very fake "Bad List"), and I am really finding myself comfortable at a number of different schools. I worried about this at the start of the year... I'm not generally that good at being a stranger in a new environment, and I absolutely loved my sponsor school last year during my practicum and didn't think I'd find another place I'd love as much, so that's been reassuring.
Lastly, I'm getting really excited to head home for Christmas. It's going to be an insane amount of driving (splitting Christmas between families is always an adventure)... I think we'll probably be in the car for approximately 30-35 hours in about 10 days, which doesn't thrill me so much, but I'm just excited to see everyone and have some time to goof off. We always try to cram more stuff in every year, and this year is no exception... after heading back to Alberta for about a week, we're trying to make it out to the Island for a few days to see some family and friends back there. Yes, this means more driving. But, gotta see 'em... it's been far too long, and the ocean is calling my name.
T
Tuesday, December 04, 2007
Randomness and the start of a new month
It's over. However, I feel a little strange now that the obligation to post is gone.
Lately, I’ve felt like I’ve been sucked into a strange bizzaro-world. This may be a bit of an inaccurate way to describe life as of late, but I’m definitely experiencing some randomness. I won’t get into it all, but I will share a few really brief stories (if, in fact, I’m capable of such a thing)…
I didn’t get a call for work yesterday. Although I hate not working, I’ve been feeling the very early warnings of a cold lingering in my nose and chest, so I was okay with the fact that I wouldn’t have to face the germs of hundreds of hormonal teens during the peak of cold and flu season. So, home I stayed. About ten o’clock in the morning, I received a call from a lady from a number I didn’t recognize. She informed me that I had been referred to her by The City’s office as a contact for trapping a troublesome animal.
"Sorry? What were you calling about?" I responded. Disbelief and some giggling could both be found in the shaky nature of my voice.
"The City gave me your number. I’m calling you because I need to trap a raccoon that has been terrorizing my house, and I was told that you could come and trap it."
"Oh, sure, no problem. What’s your address? I’ll be right over. By the way, approximately how big is your raccoon?"
Okay, this isn’t how the conversation actually proceeded. In reality, I responded by laughing a hearty chuckle and saying I had absolutely no idea how the city provided my number, but I was definitely not the local trapper guy. I wished her good luck and hung up the phone.
Strange.
Also, how many people have been afflicted with inoperable windshield wipers? Well, I’ve never actually encountered anyone who has, but last week, this is exactly the part of the Hyundai that died on our car. We live in a pretty sunny place. However, western North American has been afflicted with some seriously wet weather (both rain and snow), and this has created a problem. No windshield wipers = issues. There haven't been any vehicular mishaps, but there was definitely potential yesterday.
After sitting around the house, I decided that I'd go to the gym while it wasn't raining and pick K up on the way home. There was even some blue sky, so as long as I didn't get a truckload of snow dumped on my windshield, I'd be fine. Upon leaving, I saw that it had, in fact, started raining. However, my pea-like brain thought, "You know, I could probably make it to K's work as long as I don't drive fast and stay on side roads. Windshield wipers aren't that important." Yes, I realize that I should've been struck by lightning for this comment, but in my naivety, I left anyways.
The parking lot portion of the drive was tolerable. The actual road, on the other hand??? Not so much. After about a block and a half, I slammed the button for the hazards, pulled into the Superstore parking lot, and started dialing people to rescue me. Luckily, a buddy of mine came by, picked me up, took me to NAPA to pick up the new wiper motor, picked up K and we both got a ride home. I learned a lot from this experience. The main thing: Don't be stupid when it comes to windows and rain. Period.
Although some small adjustments need to be made tomorrow, the new wiper motor is in and the wipers are again functional. All's well. I also won another Florida vacation (according to a telephone call)... but, I think that I'll pass on another free trip because who would really want to leave MY apartment? It's pretty wonderful in all it's whitewashed glory. Insert tongue in cheek.
T
I didn’t get a call for work yesterday. Although I hate not working, I’ve been feeling the very early warnings of a cold lingering in my nose and chest, so I was okay with the fact that I wouldn’t have to face the germs of hundreds of hormonal teens during the peak of cold and flu season. So, home I stayed. About ten o’clock in the morning, I received a call from a lady from a number I didn’t recognize. She informed me that I had been referred to her by The City’s office as a contact for trapping a troublesome animal.
"Sorry? What were you calling about?" I responded. Disbelief and some giggling could both be found in the shaky nature of my voice.
"The City gave me your number. I’m calling you because I need to trap a raccoon that has been terrorizing my house, and I was told that you could come and trap it."
"Oh, sure, no problem. What’s your address? I’ll be right over. By the way, approximately how big is your raccoon?"
Okay, this isn’t how the conversation actually proceeded. In reality, I responded by laughing a hearty chuckle and saying I had absolutely no idea how the city provided my number, but I was definitely not the local trapper guy. I wished her good luck and hung up the phone.
Strange.
Also, how many people have been afflicted with inoperable windshield wipers? Well, I’ve never actually encountered anyone who has, but last week, this is exactly the part of the Hyundai that died on our car. We live in a pretty sunny place. However, western North American has been afflicted with some seriously wet weather (both rain and snow), and this has created a problem. No windshield wipers = issues. There haven't been any vehicular mishaps, but there was definitely potential yesterday.
After sitting around the house, I decided that I'd go to the gym while it wasn't raining and pick K up on the way home. There was even some blue sky, so as long as I didn't get a truckload of snow dumped on my windshield, I'd be fine. Upon leaving, I saw that it had, in fact, started raining. However, my pea-like brain thought, "You know, I could probably make it to K's work as long as I don't drive fast and stay on side roads. Windshield wipers aren't that important." Yes, I realize that I should've been struck by lightning for this comment, but in my naivety, I left anyways.
The parking lot portion of the drive was tolerable. The actual road, on the other hand??? Not so much. After about a block and a half, I slammed the button for the hazards, pulled into the Superstore parking lot, and started dialing people to rescue me. Luckily, a buddy of mine came by, picked me up, took me to NAPA to pick up the new wiper motor, picked up K and we both got a ride home. I learned a lot from this experience. The main thing: Don't be stupid when it comes to windows and rain. Period.
Although some small adjustments need to be made tomorrow, the new wiper motor is in and the wipers are again functional. All's well. I also won another Florida vacation (according to a telephone call)... but, I think that I'll pass on another free trip because who would really want to leave MY apartment? It's pretty wonderful in all it's whitewashed glory. Insert tongue in cheek.
T
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)