My seniors are not disappearing this Spring like they
usually do. That makes me happy. Most
years, the arrival of warm weather means low attendance. I end up roaming the
hallway outside of my classroom looking for students, wondering if enough will
trickle in for class to feel like something other than a tutoring session. I tell them: "Kids in private schools pay lots of money for classes this small," and I think that they think that's weird.
But, while the students are actually coming, they are becoming
increasingly difficult to engage and motivate. Lessons that would have sparked
thoughtful discussions and led to meaningful writing, at least in my opinion,
seem to drag on forever. Students are starting to complain that class is boring
and I can see them looking at me with resentment in their eyes while they drudge
through assignments. There is not quite an air of loathing in the room.
I have the benefit of teaching seniors, and for some reason
this year they actually believe that they will fail if they do not do their
work or come to class. This has not
always been the case, and I imagine that it is different for many teachers
across the district, as it has been for me in the past.
My real point here is that I really want to know if
Baltimore schools can actually become places that students want to come to on a
daily basis. I know there is a seemingly
overwhelming number of factors that keep students away, but the system must implement changes to make schools a more
attractive option for students when they are deciding how to spend their days.
It is not enough for teachers to bear the burden of getting
students motivated to come to school. We
can certainly have a huge impact, but it would be more efficient and effective
if the district systematically made an effort to make schools more appealing. I
have seen energized and effective teachers vampirized by the system, and when
they move on or change positions, their replacements have to start from
scratch.
Facilities are a major issue, and talk of renovations is
finally in the air. Schools are aesthetically
repugnant. They are uncomfortable in all
seasons. The water is poisonous. There
are long unused corridors devoid of natural light that lead nowhere. At least this is true of my school.
Still the physical infrastructure is only part of the issue,
and it is hard to separate other issues from the root causes, which might
include but not be limited to underfunding, an obsession with testing, and the
love/fear of failure.
I want to see Baltimore schools when they are a place that
students want to come, even though they are sick of English class or the buss
is late or they are hungry or they were up all night or the new Xbox game is
particularly engaging or their friends are at the mall. Our schools must realize their competition. Learning must be willful in order for it to
occur. If schools are going to actually
educate and enrich young individuals, they need to make them want to be
there. Or perhaps that is just
pandering.
4 comments:
I have similar thoughts about this as well. How do we make a student’s education appealing to where they want to try and attend on a regular basis? When thinking about my peers and I in my schooling, school was a gateway that although tedious at times, would lead to attaining our goals. Furthermore, the social aspects of school were fun.
At the same time, I wonder about the lowered expectations that we are constantly combatting. I worry that if we try to make school too “fun” just to attract students into attending, that we will be training them to only respond, show up, or put in effort if the task at hand is entertaining.
As a middle school teacher I am already beginning to see this surface in many of my students. A significant amount will only pay attention and put effort into assignments and class if it is “fun.” If not, I feel like I’m pulling teeth to get them to even try. Honestly, I find myself often thinking that school needs to show more “tough love” in order to make education meaningful. That is, if families and students don’t appreciate it and take it seriously, they could truly miss out.
Ideally families should encourage their students to attend school not because its fun, but because its necessary for them to better their lives. They should attend and complete their work (no matter how tedious) to train themselves and build work ethic.
With that said, this is Baltimore City Public Schools and inherent motivation is rare. So I guess my question becomes: How do we encourage and motivate families and students to engage in school not merely because it’s “fun,” but because they truly understand the power and benefits that an education can bring?
I would like to clarify that I do not think fun is a necessary part of the classroom environment. It has its place, of course, but every lesson should not be what the students think is fun. Students must learn to appreciate the more subtle pleasures of hard work.
I think schools need to be more pleasant and offer programs and places that make students want to come to the building. This could include rich field trip offerings, engaging after school programs, comfortable seating, increased light, less bars and/ or gates/ jail-like features, transparent windows, fresh paint, quiet reading areas, etc. It is not just a facilities renovation issue, but an issue of what to do with do with the facilities that we have.
Nick,
I agree with you that we need to make school more attractive to students. I usually approach my student problems from an intrinsic perspective, which can be even more frustrating than the lack of proper heating, cooling, windows, lights, water, furniture, and supplies. It is difficult because, as you have hinted, students often fail to see the point of coming to school and school is simply not as fun or not as important as the many other attractions in their lives.
Similar to Joshua, I take a strong "tough love" approach in my classroom and believe that we should be less accommodating. It's painful because you want students to embrace school for what it is -- an opportunity to learn, potentially better themselves, and make a difference. The dilemma is trying to get them to realize this without just turning school into a game.
After all, what are we preparing them for if we train them to believe that school should be fun all of the time and that is the only reason they are invested? (I know that wasn't the point of your article but it is something I think about frequently when this issue comes up.) If our students proceed onto higher education, they will most likely not be coddled by their professors. That is not to say that fun shouldn't be a part of an education. Fun develops as students learn to embrace new challenges and succeed in overcoming them. This is where learning really gets exciting.
The difficulty is getting them there and getting them to embrace the challenge. To another math teacher in my building, students would complain that, “This [work] is boring.” In response, she would say, "How do you know it's boring if you have never tried it?"
-Summer
I can most certainly relate to shoddy, dingy, almost dungeon-esque environment that many city schools uphold. My kids are constantly wearing coats, where they can barely move their pencil across the page because their body is so restricted, and the classrooms are lucky to be cleaned. Something needs to be done.
I couldn’t agree more about our competition. I teach lower elementary and engaging these students are always a challenge on a daily basis, but at this age, they are more interested in playing with their hot-wheels, etc. What is one to do? Perhaps, provide a more interactive learning environment. I know my student engagement increased exponentially after my first 6 months of teaching, when I acquired a projector and document reader. Students are engrossed in technology/games, and I recognize that. That’s why I harness that interest on a daily basis. Therefore, I believe schools would greatly benefit from SMART boards in all city schools with the effective and meaningful use of professional development. I believe this could truly reach students, and provide them with the enrichment that they truly need/desire.
School buildings are tired in this city, there is no denying that. However, I feel that placing emphasis in the classroom would at least increase engagement and make the classroom a more exciting, thriving place to be a part of them. After that has been developed, then the system can look at ways to revitalize our current schools.
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