Educators at every level spend time in professional development. In my current school system (and most other public school systems) we begin each school year with three in-service days. We are granted very little time to be in our rooms actually preparing for our students’ arrival. We spend lots of time being reminded how each of our students are unique. We are reminded to be patient and thorough with each student, as each will learn the information differently. This is actually one of the only useful messages public school systems put out any more. Then the professional development begins and all of this is proven to be lies like all the others.
You see, when the professional development begins we are told that we really do not know how to teach. My current system has a Superintendent who is friends with the author of a program called “Learning Focused”. So we spend eight hours in one day being told that we are teaching incorrectly. We then spend four hours the next day being told that we are not covering enough of the “Tests” because we spend too much time teaching items in different ways.
Common Core, or the equivalent curriculum in use in public school systems presently are only testing curriculum; not learning curriculum. Testing curriculum are created and designed specifically to align with tests; not to actually teach the students in any meaningful or impactful way. To maintain pace testing curriculum requires that each and every student must be taught only one way to arrive at an answer to a question. Students must come to the same answer, using the same methods as every other student.
With limited time allotted around testing anyway, these restrictions further limit the learning of every student. Advanced students cannot be pushed. Struggling students cannot catch up. The objective of answering a question is to arrive at the correct answer. Limiting the ways students have to arrive at the correct answer is detrimental to the education of all students. Expanding the ways to arrive at the correct answer allows students to find the method which bests works for them.
Our School Board and administrations preach how each student is unique and needs to learn their own way. Then we close the doors and tell teachers that all that matters are the tests. We are told that the school system knows the best way to learn the material, and we are to push it down their throats until they pass the test. It is disgusting. It is disheartening. It is sad.
Public School Truth 