Priorities and Time- Have I Done Enough?

[Teresa Bunner]

I can’t think of a school year where I didn’t wish for more time with my students. I find myself thinking “If we just had a little more time we could…” But I know as each semester and each year ends, that I must realize that the learning process is ongoing and no matter much time I spend with them there will always be more for us to learn. That is part of what I love so much about this job that I do.

I’m finding myself in a quandry this week in regards to this subject of time. Perhaps it is more about priorities and expectations than time, but it is the looming of the calendar that has me stressed. Or perhaps just questioning.

We are in our 10th week of the school year. Based on our schedule, that means I have 8 more weeks with my students. I’m over halfway through my time with them. Halfway through and I haven’t taught them nearly what I had hoped to. Granted I teach in an alternative school where the students have trickled in by ones and twos. Most of my current students didn’t arrive until the 4th week of school. And granted, they are a tough group, behind in skills, lacking focus, surrounded by walls they have built to protect themselves from a world that continually assails them with negativity. So, in reality I have had about 6 weeks with them.

What have we accomplished in 6 weeks that will insure they pass the end of course exam? They have read every day. They have fallen in love with books. They carry books all around the school with them and sit and read without prompting. They have written. They have journals and poems and literature letters. And one very pathetic attempt at an essay. Their teacher must not have done a good job teaching that one. So we are starting anew on that next week. They smile. They laugh. They no longer storm out of the school building when they don’t like an answer or just feel like it. They share their thoughts and ideas. They have produced the first ever school newsletter and are currently working on their second edition. They have given me grey hair and a reason to get to work in the morning.

What we haven’t accomplished? We haven’t taken one multiple choice question test. We haven’t cracked open the hundreds of dollars of test prep books. They still make mistakes. They still get attitude. We haven’t accomplished perfection.

Yet, that test will arrive in just a few weeks. Will what we have accomplished be enough? Part of me thinks it will. Part of me wonders if I could have used our time more wisely. Instead of giving them a few extra minutes to read, perhaps I should have asked them to write a response to the book. Or answer some multiple choice questions about the book. Instead of taking a few minutes to chat with them as they transition in from their weekend (always a tough time for them) perhaps I should have had them answer a well developed writing prompt.

Did we use our time wisely enough? I guess only time will tell.


Posted from my blog At the Heart of Teaching www.readingteach.wordpress.com

[Teresa Bunner]

They can take it again next semester (with me:) I'm sure they will be thrilled about the opportunity!

[Clix]

Teresa, can the kids who don't pass take English I again next semester or do they have to wait until next year?

[Teresa Bunner]

Gary, golly, I wish I had as much confidence in myself. Thank you!!!

Lori, Friday was a great day with the kids. They really opened up and we had a great discussion to start a new unit. Hopefully we can continue that momentum! Thanks for the encouragement.

Alan, this is the end of the year for me with these kids. We are on a block schedule which normally I love. But in the past when I have worked with struggling kids, we have made it a priority to have them in English all year. That is not the case here. So, right after we get back from winter break, my kids take a test that decides if they pass English 9 or not. Unlike CA, we actually count the test here:) And we get results the same week the kids take the test. Hence my trepidation. This is high stakes for my kids.

[Alan Sitomer]

For me this is an end of the year experience more than a start of November one. I am at full speed right now trying to get in as much as possible before we give out kids almost 3 weeks off from school. (It's just too long our break.) And the mental mush they turn to with so much of a break, well... personally, I love the long holiday break but it's not about me... my kids would benefit from a break, yes -- but a shorter one.

[Lori Jordan]

I usually get that feeling in February every year--about a month before our kids take their state tests. I feel like I haven't taught them enough, and they'll fail the tests, and I'll be seen as the reason they failed, and all those things that go along with the fatigue and the stress and the care that are part of the job. Then something small usually happens to propel me back into the world of hope. I hope that something small happens for you this week.

[Gary Anderson]

Nobody keeps the focus on the big picture better than you, Teresa.

[Teresa Bunner]

Thank you both! It is difficult to be cavalier about them passing a multiple choice test, but the truth is, if they don't, then they don;t receive credit for English and have to take it again. As much as I know the power of reading and a lifelong love of reading, as much as I know the power of helping them find their voices as writers, there is still the small part of me that fears this one moment of judgement and my role in their success.

[Amy King]

You are doing right. What is going to matter years from now is that your kids like to read. Don't make it a chore for them.

[Lyn Tiernan]

Teresa, I too often reach the end of a school year and wonder if I have done enough. The last few years I've changed my mantra and recognized I am only part of a bigger picture and asked myself if I have dome my part as well as I could. And its clear from your post that your students have achieved a lot. It may not be 'enough' to satisfy a multiple choice test but we both know life isn't a multiple choice test. A love of reading and both the desire to say something and the confidence to say it goes a long way in this life.