Monterey County Herald & CFT
A strange education matter came to pass a few days ago. I received an email from a first year 6th grade teacher. The email requested that I reveal my classroom management system. I’ve taught for 37years so I think I can qualify as a veteran teacher.
Flattered of course, I revealed the nitty-gritty of my ticket system. Long and short of it – when kids are good they get tickets. When negative behaviors transpire tickets are taken away. Tickets are used for class auctions or to buy lunch with the teacher.
Initially I was pleased, but upon reflection the larger picture saddened me. No one has asked me about anything regarding teaching for years. Student teachers are given to shiny new teachers which is wrong as it takes about 5-7 years to firm up a solid teaching base.
The education reform movement has choked, stifled, and smothered veteran teachers. It has poo-poo-ed their historic knowledge and the vast wealth of experience they have collected. Ed reform has replaced it with ridiculous chants, mantras, beliefs, and a bowing before the goddess of data and technology. A great false association has taken place. It is believed that because shiny new green teachers (the ones who quit in mooing herds within their first five years) are adept at computer usage they are also are harbingers of true new fix-it-all education. And this works for principals who desire compliant teachers to implement the new stuff. Who better to do it than flexible indentured newbies who feel indebted to the principal for employment.
Veteran teachers have seen the following educational fixes. And we survived them. (LIST Here)
Normally what happens on a political level is a new administrative junta comes in and they totally flush all previous magic systems replacing them with a new magic system. The new systems are lobbied and echo-chambered by shills for publishing and these days testing companies (often one and the same) Locally this plays out with districts trying to comply with, fads, trends, and laws they did not make.
Veteran teachers are bailing in record numbers because of the predatory widespread immolation of the public school system. We are dying from a thousand cuts. The saddest thing is the newer teachers don’t know that they don’t know what’s being done to them incrementally.
What education needs in areas of poverty is smaller classes, brilliant teachers, the arts and veteran teachers evaluating programs. Non-educators should have zero say in education programming. And that goes for educators who are not in the classroom either. Education theory is too often ephemeral fancy based on anecdotal data.
Two-weeks ago I walked to Round Table with some students who had accumulated enough tickets to qualify for pizza lunch. Inside the restaurant the kindest of construction workers insisted on paying for the pizza for my students. It was wonderful thank you and an eye-raising experience for my students
Tickets work and all veteran teachers have more than a few worthy effective educational tricks up their sleeves.