As Christmas approaches (quickly!!!), I'm already thinking ahead to the new year and all that it brings...including resolutions. My opinion on resolutions wavers...are they really worth it? I'm not sure. In most areas of life, I have terrible follow-through. I bite off way more than I can chew or dream up grand ideas I never finish. But, I'm going for it anyway.
The other day, we had some friends over to our apartment for the first time, and one of them commented on my bookshelf. Evan joked that none of the books have come down since we put them up there. And while that's not completely true...it's not a totally unreasonable statement, either. I have accumulated so many books, and so many of them are just waiting to be read! So I want to get on it.
My goal is to read 50 books by the end of 2011. Many people take on the "50 books in a year" challenge, which is basically what I'm doing. I'm just giving myself a bit of a head start. :)
Evan asked if I was going to count children's books. I read a LOT of them, in part because of my career and in part because I just love them. The answer is yes and no. I'm not going to count picture books, but I will count novels. I'm counting one of them as book #1!
Over on the right hand side of this page, you'll see a link to a "50 Books" page where I'll keep a running list of the books I read.
I lovelovelove to read, but it's something I don't normally make a lot of time for on a daily basis. I'd like to change that, so here we go!
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
Teaching as Public Service
The Washington Post published this blog post in "The Answer Sheet" about whether or not Teach for America (TFA) corps members can be considered "highly-qualified" teachers. Under No Child Left Behind, every classroom in America must have a "highly-qualified" teacher, and there is some debate amongst politicians about who qualifies for that classification. I've read "The Answer Sheet" for some time now, and from what I've gathered, Valerie Strauss is not too fond of TFA. I, on the other hand, think TFA is wonderful. I started writing to explain why, but there's no way I can do it concisely (or coherently) enough for one blog post tonight. I did want to focus on one thing, though, and that's this idea of teaching as a public service.
When I arrived at the University of Florida my freshman year, I was a journalism major. For many reasons (far too many to go into here), during the summer before my sophomore year, I changed my major to Elementary Education K-6. This was a decision for which I received a lot of flack. Why--people scoffed--would I leave one of the nation's premier journalism programs? Why would I pick elementary ed when at a school with TONS of other options? In my experience, there is a perception among college students (and others) that teaching is what you do when you aren't smart enough to do anything else. During my internship, my mentor teacher explained how during college, her husband's friends joked that she was majoring in "Bulletin Board Making 101."
Who can blame them, though, really? In America, teaching has become a discredited and devalued profession. Low-salaries is certainly the most obvious (and most frequently cited) indicator of this. I think it's demonstrated even in the climate of the education reform movement right now. Teachers are blamed almost entirely for the problem. Does it really make sense to fire every teacher in a school when test scores are low? No, no, no, no, no. But in America, we blame our teachers. (Aside: Please hear me when I say that teachers deserve some of the blame. As a teacher, if one of my students fail, I am going to blame myself because I have a role to play. However, I also must recognize that there are many factors beyond my control. More on that another time.)
When I became an education major, I was met with cries of "What are you thinking?" TFA, however, is widely respected by college students, their professors, graduate schools, and corporations around the country. At UF, it is considered an honor to be a TFA corps members. Acceptance into the program is met with congratulations and accolades, and deservedly so. It is a highly-competitive program, and I know several people (amazing people who would have made wonderful teachers!) who did not make the cut. When you become a TFA corps members, it is a big deal.
I think that's wonderful. TFA is helping college students (and in turn, their friends and families) recognize teaching as an honor, a responsibility, and a civic duty. TFA recognizes teaching as a challenge and as an opportunity for public service. If college students don't see teaching that way, what else will attract them to the job? When will the rest of our country begin to see it this way? When will teaching become a career for only the best and the brightest? When will our school districts have more applicants than open positions? When will teaching become a coveted and respected career in our country?
I don't have the answers here.
But we need to start asking the questions.
I consider teaching an honor, a challenge, and a responsibility. I consider it a calling. The Florida legislature could lower teachers' salaries even further, and I would still be there every morning. By spending my days with children, I get to spend my days with the future. I get to spend my days with the children who will answer these (and other) tough questions in America. I wouldn't trade that opportunity for anything.
When I arrived at the University of Florida my freshman year, I was a journalism major. For many reasons (far too many to go into here), during the summer before my sophomore year, I changed my major to Elementary Education K-6. This was a decision for which I received a lot of flack. Why--people scoffed--would I leave one of the nation's premier journalism programs? Why would I pick elementary ed when at a school with TONS of other options? In my experience, there is a perception among college students (and others) that teaching is what you do when you aren't smart enough to do anything else. During my internship, my mentor teacher explained how during college, her husband's friends joked that she was majoring in "Bulletin Board Making 101."
Who can blame them, though, really? In America, teaching has become a discredited and devalued profession. Low-salaries is certainly the most obvious (and most frequently cited) indicator of this. I think it's demonstrated even in the climate of the education reform movement right now. Teachers are blamed almost entirely for the problem. Does it really make sense to fire every teacher in a school when test scores are low? No, no, no, no, no. But in America, we blame our teachers. (Aside: Please hear me when I say that teachers deserve some of the blame. As a teacher, if one of my students fail, I am going to blame myself because I have a role to play. However, I also must recognize that there are many factors beyond my control. More on that another time.)
When I became an education major, I was met with cries of "What are you thinking?" TFA, however, is widely respected by college students, their professors, graduate schools, and corporations around the country. At UF, it is considered an honor to be a TFA corps members. Acceptance into the program is met with congratulations and accolades, and deservedly so. It is a highly-competitive program, and I know several people (amazing people who would have made wonderful teachers!) who did not make the cut. When you become a TFA corps members, it is a big deal.
I think that's wonderful. TFA is helping college students (and in turn, their friends and families) recognize teaching as an honor, a responsibility, and a civic duty. TFA recognizes teaching as a challenge and as an opportunity for public service. If college students don't see teaching that way, what else will attract them to the job? When will the rest of our country begin to see it this way? When will teaching become a career for only the best and the brightest? When will our school districts have more applicants than open positions? When will teaching become a coveted and respected career in our country?
I don't have the answers here.
But we need to start asking the questions.
I consider teaching an honor, a challenge, and a responsibility. I consider it a calling. The Florida legislature could lower teachers' salaries even further, and I would still be there every morning. By spending my days with children, I get to spend my days with the future. I get to spend my days with the children who will answer these (and other) tough questions in America. I wouldn't trade that opportunity for anything.
Friday, December 10, 2010
Fleeting
Written on November 23, 2010.
Today is one of those days when I sense change around the corner, and with good reason. Thanksgiving break starts tomorrow, kicking off our first holiday season as a married couple. And soon, my internship is over. My students barraged me this afternoon with, "How many more days until you leave? Will you come back for the mud walk? Are you going to cry?"
A few weeks ago, Cristina, while trying to wrap her head around the concept of an "internship," asked, "What are you doing, retiring or something?" Today she asked, "When are you coming back to finish the rest of your internship?" Somehow, she doesn't fully understanding that in four days, I am not longer their teacher.
This is one of the very hard things about this job. These students are mine for such a temporary, fleeting time. Then, I leave them (or they are taken from me) into someone else's hands to be built up or to be destroyed. All I can do is hope that all I've done has not been in vain.
When I look back on my own life, elementary school seems like a blink, a hiccup. It was there for a moment, and then it was gone. Still, I somehow know that I owe those women--my teachers--so much o what I have accomplished and so much of who I am.
I can count the pennies in my bank account, and subtract the $4.66 for this frappuchino I'm drinking.
I can write a shopping list.
There are characters, plots, and lines of poetry engrained in my psyche and imprinted on my heart.
Even as I scribble these words across this page, their influence over my life is as clear as the ink from this blue ballpoint pen. I take these things for granted every single day. But as I think about it, it becomes clear that I could not do this, be who I am, or lived this life without them.
I am reminded that teaching, though separated by summer breaks and punctuated by FCATs, grade levels, and commencements, is not temporary.
And I almost hope my students will learn everything well enough that they can take it for granted.
Today is one of those days when I sense change around the corner, and with good reason. Thanksgiving break starts tomorrow, kicking off our first holiday season as a married couple. And soon, my internship is over. My students barraged me this afternoon with, "How many more days until you leave? Will you come back for the mud walk? Are you going to cry?"
A few weeks ago, Cristina, while trying to wrap her head around the concept of an "internship," asked, "What are you doing, retiring or something?" Today she asked, "When are you coming back to finish the rest of your internship?" Somehow, she doesn't fully understanding that in four days, I am not longer their teacher.
This is one of the very hard things about this job. These students are mine for such a temporary, fleeting time. Then, I leave them (or they are taken from me) into someone else's hands to be built up or to be destroyed. All I can do is hope that all I've done has not been in vain.
When I look back on my own life, elementary school seems like a blink, a hiccup. It was there for a moment, and then it was gone. Still, I somehow know that I owe those women--my teachers--so much o what I have accomplished and so much of who I am.
I can count the pennies in my bank account, and subtract the $4.66 for this frappuchino I'm drinking.
I can write a shopping list.
There are characters, plots, and lines of poetry engrained in my psyche and imprinted on my heart.
Even as I scribble these words across this page, their influence over my life is as clear as the ink from this blue ballpoint pen. I take these things for granted every single day. But as I think about it, it becomes clear that I could not do this, be who I am, or lived this life without them.
I am reminded that teaching, though separated by summer breaks and punctuated by FCATs, grade levels, and commencements, is not temporary.
And I almost hope my students will learn everything well enough that they can take it for granted.
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