Something that has really stuck with me this week from the readings deals with the lack of teacher education programs that focus on middle level education. Goal # 2 from Success in the Middle states " Support the recruitment and hiring of teachers and administrators who have strong content knowledge and the ability to use research-based instructional strategies and assessment practices appropriate for middle level students." I think this is a great goal, but how likely are we of accomplishing it if one of the enduring problems in middle level education is the lack of teacher education programs and licensure that focus on the middle level (answers.com).
At the school I use to teach at, the majority of the teachers wanted to be there. They either went through middle level education programs or elementary programs but somehow migrated to the middle level and discovered a passion for that age group. However, there were some teachers who were not as happy teaching the middle level. The sad thing about that is I don't remember any workshops or teacher in service days that focused on working with the middle level. Our in service days would focus on reading NWEA results or MAP scores. One time I remember we had a teacher in service day centered on gang activity (unfortunately that was a problem in our area). We also had days for curriculum development. But never was it focused on the students. That support could be helpful for those teachers who struggle with working in the middle level.
Something else that was a common issue in many of the readings deals with school funding. It seems like everyone agrees that the ways schools are funded is unfair and something has to be done. What I don't understand is why is nothing being done? Kozol wrote Savage Inequalities twenty years ago. I remember reading it 10 years ago and being shocked then. I could see the inequality in school funding all around me in Ohio and South Carolina. But still nothing has been done. Darling-Hammond writes in "We must also finally make good on the American promise to make education available to all on equal terms, so that every member of this society can realize a productive life and contribute to the greater welfare." What saddens me about education sometimes is that we are here to help students, how simple is that! Unfortunately, bureaucracy and politics get in the way and make a simple act of helping and educating students a mess at times.
Two critical points—teacher education (or lack thereof) and inequitable funding for states. In spite of the efforts of a number of people over the last 25 years, we still have an old-fashioned overlapping certification system in Maine. And if you really want to focus on the middle level which do you choose—K-8 or 7-12. No wonder we are still caught in the middle on this issue.
ReplyDeleteTo be fair, there are a number of states that now do have ml certification...but almost all are optional and not required. Maine HAD a ml endorsement for awhile, but that was changed with NCLB requirements and all the ml part of it was lost for more content only.