Why do we teach?
After reading this week, it makes me reflect on my own personal reasons of why I became a teacher. I think for a teacher it’s important to reflect on the reasons I got into this profession. It’s for the children and for the opportunity to make a positive impact on a child’s life. It’s important because I know how easy it is to get wrapped up in everything around and becoming distracted by the obstacles and small bumps along the road. I tend to lose sight of what I’m doing and why I am doing it.
Rethinking ECE has teachers reflecting on standardized testing and how it’s hurting the children and creating more stress for everyone involved. The tests are taking us away from the children. We are either going to teach to the test or teach concrete lessons but fail at the test. It has teachers ask why are we in this profession? We are moving away from the reasons why we became teachers. Teachers are stressed out and think that these test are a reflection of their abilities. At that point, we have lost our motivation and desire to teach children.
New Possibilities is shows that as teachers, we can find our inspiration in some unique ways. I believe Tanya’s story can be an inspiration to all of us, to help us reconnect with why we teach. Personally, I got into this profession because I wanted to help children reach their full potential as people and not only in an academic setting but overall in their life. It is easy for me to get wrapped up with distractions or the environment I am in and forget what I wanted to do and why I am doing this. I think we all need to take a step back from time to time and reevaluate what we are doing and what we want to be doing.
Hi Sarah,
ReplyDelete"We are either going to teach to the test or teach concrete lessons but fail at the test." You set-up a dichotomy of either/or -- are there other choices in this situation? Is failure of the test inevitable without teaching to the test? In the rethinking readings, the teachers discuss finding ways to resist the test and advocate for children through actions and writings. Are there ways advocacy can be enacted through our blogs or relationships with our peers? How can considering issues like standardized tests help educators to consider their own practices?
Jeanne
Aloha Sarah,
ReplyDeleteI can relate to the points you made in your blog, as well as your question "Why do we teach?". As early childhood educators, it can be rather simple to get caught up in the hype about standardized testing. How do you find the balance of teaching what you believe is appropriate and teaching to standards? As an early childhood educator it is difficult to find that place..especially if the program you are in is regulated or mandated to implement particular standards. This difficulty has lead me question why I became a teacher and also inspired me to create my own family child care program so that I can stay true to who I am as an educator.
Hi Sarah,
ReplyDeleteAs a preschool teacher we encounter pressure from parents and kindergarten. And it's really hard remember what we all learned in class without taking their view points into consideration. I have a parent in my class who wants their child to read. Therefore on weekends does flash cards with their child. The outcome, is she is very bright, but lacks social and self-help skills. I guess it's obvious what matters the most to the parent.
Is it really necessary to have assessments in preschool? Aren't the assessment more for the parents than the child. Because we as teachers can see their progress through observations.From my experience Assesments are to show what a child cannot do, and that's what parents focus is on.