The Possibilities of Student Achievement
I want to start this post by saying I am incredibly grateful for all of the educational experience I have had so far in my career. Every trial I have faced, every challenge I have overcome, has led me to where I am now. After only three weeks of training, I can say that I have never felt as confident in my abilities as I do now, and to be surrounded by such incredible support is a huge bonus. When I compare this new experience to my prior experiences, I am blown away at the contrasts between the two. At my first school, as a first year teacher, I was not properly trained, supported, or prepared to meet the expectations and needs of the school.
As easy as it is for me to blame the company I worked for (and while I do think they are partially to blame), I cant ignore the reality that my experience is not an isolated incident. I have always been aware of the statistics. I knew I was a part of them- new teacher fresh out of college, no experience teaching in an urban environment, feeling the burnout and fatigue after only two years on the job... I wasn’t searching for a new job when I found it... and I firmly believe I am exactly where I am supposed to be, but my heart still beats for the city. I really loved those kids, and it isn’t east to leave them behind. As a result of this passion I continue to maintain, I find my eyes opened to some truths as I experience education from “the other side of 8 mile and telegraph.”
Money matters, but it won’t fix the problem.
I had the opportunity to work for two different schools in the city, both with access to tons of resources as far as students were concerned. In one school, every child was given a laptop or desktop computer, we had SMARTboards and iPads, our Title I room had access to funding and supplies that I had never seen before. In the other, technology was a bit outdated but available, including SMARTboards in each room. Although they lacked in some areas when it came to ordinary teacher supplies, there were few times when I was unable to get what I needed for the plans I prepared. Yet, day after day, week after week, month after month, kids were failing to make the progress we hoped for. Now I don’t know the answer to “why”... not exactly, but I have a theory. This theory is that access to technology makes a big difference, and funding makes a difference, but those things in isolation do not bring success. Students desperately need qualified, passionate, (happy), supported teachers who believe in their ability to be successful. The lack of success we witnessed seemed to directly correlate with high teacher turnover, feelings of low-morale, fatigue, and pressure, and a push for progress rather than a focus on building a foundation that empowers students in their education.
The students I taught in West Detroit, although often facing incredibly difficult challenges, are no less able to find success than the students I will meet next week. Their obstacles may be different, and require a different set of support and expertise, but not impossible to overcome. I firmly believe that in order for teachers to properly meet the needs of their students, their emotional and professional needs must also be met. Pushing for more testing, more assessment, more tasks, and more administrative control will not bring about student success- retaining teachers for more than a year, empowering teachers in their work, and promoting a school culture that really believes in the abilities, ideas, and futures of the students that attend, in my experience, makes all the difference.