teaching

What’s the role of deadlines in schools?

Posted on by Mark Isero

 With graduation just two weeks away, my students have entered a stressful period that is filled with deadlines.

For example: The last day to turn in their senior project was yesterday. The last day to turn in their community service hours is this Friday. And there’s more.

Today, I’ve been thinking about the nature of deadlines and their place in schools.

Some people think that deadlines are the way of the world, that deadlines are equal to rigor and high standards, that there should be severe punishment if students don’t meet deadlines, and that there shouldn’t be extensions granted.

Other people think that the world has different kinds of deadlines, that some are soft and some are hard, that students should learn from missing deadlines but not be punished severely, and that deadlines are unfair and amount to perpetuating a discriminatory system that excludes.

The first group seems unfeeling and machine-like. The second group seems caring and thoughtful.

As an teacher, I locate myself squarely in the first group.

If I’m clearly communicating an assignment’s expectations, and if I’m helping my students meet those expectations, and then they don’t, then they haven’t met the standard. It’s not my fault, and it’s not their fault; it just means that they didn’t meet the expectation, and therefore shouldn’t receive the credit.

Now I concede that some students have emergencies and special circumstances. But accommodations and communication must happen before the deadline, not afterward. As a teacher, I have no problem in most cases to grant an extension if there is a solid justification. But I don’t like solving a problem for a student after a deadline has passed.

On the other hand, we know that there is sometimes arbitrary power behind deadlines. After all, why is something due on one day and not on another? If a student isn’t ready on the deadline, should we cast him out? Many proponents of standard-based grading oppose deadlines and believe that giving zeroes to students is tantamount to pushing them out of school. Their reasoning goes that schools perpetuate racist patterns by creating unfair hoops for students.

I hear that argument and am amenable to change my ideas about deadlines. However, I haven’t yet found a better way. My experience has been that building flexibility into due dates leads students to do less work. Maybe my approach is rigid, but it’s clear and it gets most kids to move.

There has to be a better way — maybe somewhere in the middle. But whatever that approach is, it must be well thought out. Sure, perhaps deadlines aren’t the answer. But neither is the absence of deadlines.

What do you think? 

reading

NewsHour report on teaching reading

Posted on by Mark Isero

 Learning Matters’ John Merrow reported last night on the PBS NewsHour about reading instruction and the trend toward teaching less fiction.

It’s 10 minutes long. Please take a look:

Merrow reviews three major reading instructional approaches: basal readers, balanced literacy, and core knowledge.

Most elementary schools have moved away from basal readers, even though the approach is cost-effective, and now use a balanced literacy program, which offers a combination of teacher-assigned texts and student independent reading.

The Core Knowledge approach, developed by cultural literacy proponent E.D. Hirsch, has become more popular with the spread of the Common Core standards. In Core Knowledge, “content is king,” Merrow says. Instead of focusing on teaching strategies, the idea is that students become better readers by building prior knowledge. The more you read, the better reader you become.

What’s interesting to me is that each of these programs does not immediately meet the demands of Common Core, with its emphasis on close reading, evidence, and New Criticism.

And yes, I’m still worried about the demise of fiction. Although I love informational texts, the last two years, I’ve come to realize the importance of fiction in young people’s lives. Here’s another article that supports my view: “You Are What You Read.” While nonfiction will build our analytical skills, fiction builds our empathy.

Please let me know what you think! 

teaching

Thank you, Online Writing Mentors

Posted on by Mark Isero

 The AP test is over, and now it’s time to give thanks.

Back in September, I realized that my students’ writing skills needed dramatic improvement. There was no way I could give my students enough individual support. So I decided my students would benefit from working with an online writing mentor.

I pitched the idea to some of my friends and posted my request on Facebook. The response was quick. It took just one week to get each of my students a mentor.

Their task: Log on Google Docs every Tuesday and spend 15-20 minutes offering suggestions, making corrections, and noting trends in grammar.

Yes, you read that correctly: Every Tuesday — from September through May.

Their dedication was deep; their commitment was impressive. I am grateful. So are my students.

Some mentors reported early on that reading and responding to their student’s essay took far longer than 20 minutes per week. That’s probably true, especially if you’re not a teacher and have high standards. (To survive, teachers learn to get through papers in 10 minutes or less.)

Despite the time commitment, the mentors pushed through. Some weeks were tough. After all, it’s never fun to read an essay that seems worse than the previous one. But overall, the mentors were impressed by their student’s growth in writing.

This year, my students wrote 16 essays. They feel accomplished. Although they understand they must still improve, they’re proud of their growth in writing.

This growth never would have happened without the students’ online writing mentors. Thank you so much. 

teaching

What’s unfair about AP, #4

Posted on by Mark Isero

 It has been a few days since my students took the AP English Literature examination. Now it’s time to do a little reflection.

The good news is that my students felt prepared and were generally happy about their performance on the test. Also good was that my students reported that the test was a fair one. (Teachers never get to see the multiple-choice section and receive the essay prompts at a later date.)

But there was plenty bad news, too.

For one, the testing space — a middle-school science laboratory, complete with Bunsen burners — was incredibly uncomfortable for my students. The lab stools were high and didn’t have chair backs. Yes, lots of discomfort. When I tested the stools, they didn’t seem uncomfortable to me, but then again, I didn’t have to remain immobile for three hours.

Several students reported that they spent an entire hour writing their essays standing up. One student said he had to sprawl out on top of the lab table in order to complete his last essay.

Horrible conditions, right? Actually, no. For our school, this was the best testing space we’ve had in years, and it took considerable work on the part of the administration. In the past, students have had to take their tests next to loud classrooms or down in cold basement storage.

I told my friend about my students’ testing room. She reminded me that we took our AP tests in a lush Hewlett-Packard conference room.

It’s just another thing that’s unfair about the AP. Because schools must furnish the testing space for students, underfunded urban schools get short shrift.

That’s right: Every student across the country takes the exact same test, but my students — who already have to scrap to pass it — have to overcome a makeshift space. They don’t mind; they’ve done it all their lives.

But it’s still bothersome. 

teaching

AP Test: Today’s the day!

Posted on by Mark Isero

 After eight months of hard work and preparation, my students take the AP English Literature examination today.

Please wish them luck!

There is no way to predict how they’ll do. After all, this is the first time I’ve taught the course, so I don’t have an accurate sense of what’s considered good enough.

I’ve tried my best, and so have my students. I am hopeful that some will pass the test. But you never know. Last year, only one student passed. A talented, experienced AP teacher — whom the students loved — could not manage to eke out higher scores. That’s why I’m so scared.

Here’s the truth: My students grew a lot in reading and writing this year. I say it; they say it; their other teachers say it. Unfortunately, this growth likely won’t be enough.

For those of you out there ready to excoriate urban public education, please refrain. Instead, read this article, which tracks the surge in the AP program, along with its advantages and disadvantages. Did you know, for example, that Indiana had 21 school districts (not schools) in which no students passed any AP test last year? In short, achievement data from AP tests seems to mirror the gap we see in the rest of our public school system: On average, White and Asian students  pass, while African American and Latino students fail.

If all the stars align, I’m hoping that a few of my students will interrupt that gap. Right now, out of my class of 23 students, I am crossing my fingers that five will earn a passing score.

We’ll get the results in July.