Ch. 1 Keith West

MONDAY, MAY 16, 2011

Ch. 1 Keith West
(2nd Go around on this. It deleted my 1st one, so if two show up, that is why.)

I agree with Kelly Gallagher that we HIGHLY overtest and teachers spend too much of their time preparing for standardized testing. I agree that we, as teachers, should be concerned with teaching skills and how to be an effective readers and learners. Today's students are very proficient at learning names, dates, timelines, maps, etc. and many of them do very well on their content test, yet struggle mightily when asked to make connections through time or to compare/contrast ideas. However, I have never been asked by a parent, "What did my child learn? Did he/she learn to think more effectively?" I have only been asked, "What grade did my child get?" I have never been asked to show a list of students who learned how to think, only a list of potential failing students. Much of what we as teachers should be teaching as far as skills isn't tangible. It is difficult to put a grade on if a student became a better reader or thinker. If we do put a grade on it, it is even more difficult to back that grade up with evidence, good or bad.

As a former Division One athlete, I became a better player through focusing on the process of becoming better. Our students are not required to focus on the process, only the results. I'm hoping we, as educators, become more proficient at teaching our students that the (love of the) process of learning is every bit as important as the content of what is learned.