This reflection taken from my notes at the Coalition of Essential Schools' San Francisco conference on equity in the classroom:
"Sitting in a conference about equity in schools, hearing Camilla [Greene] remind us to 'call a sham a sham,' I am literally holding back tears as I think about how much harder I need to work to address these issues, how much more of myself I need to give before I can really make the difference I want to make. I feel ashamed that the only students in my class who are failing or close to failing are students of color. What am I perpetuating by allowing this disparity to exist in my classroom?"
3 comments:
Remember that there is only so much within your control and that the students must bring something to the table!
I admire your honesty and vulnerability in this post. Yes, there is only so much within your control BUT I think it is sign of a good teacher to actively reflect on their teaching practice and their practice of assessment. We need to remember to ask ourselves in our assessments-what is the purpose of the assessment, to what STANDARD are we holding the students, and have we provided the students with the necessary resources (including ourselves) to meet those standards?
Can we really expect to be fair in our assessment if we hold back information, even unintentionally, about our expectations? AND do we give the kids an opportunity to use their "mistakes" as learning opportunities?
It is interesting to get feedback about what the students think about our grading practices. I have found that students will freely give feedback IF they can opt to do so anonymously and they think it will make a difference in their classroom. You may want to hand out a survey (you can even give the kids the option to type responses for better anonymity) asking specific questions about your grading practices and what kind of feedback/information they explicitly need from you do improve their grades. It may be worth a try but put your thick skin on before reading them.
In the spirit of anonymity-I'll leave the comment as such but you can probably guess who this is anyway.
Your passion for your craft, and for the young people you want to help, will prove to be the backbone of what you accomplish in your lifetime, not the next 2-3 years. Keep in mind that you must stay healthy in your life and your heart to have a positive effect on anyone. Balance.
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