Teaching Then and Now

Life often intervenes and limits opportunity for professional interaction. So it has been with me during these last few months; not even one sentence was written for thoughtful provocation. The fire continues to burn. As a result, the following is offered for your consideration.


Introduction:

It is a typical New England November. Some days quite overcast; dense gray clouds wrapping this small corner of the world with chill and dampness, acting as the harbinger of winter snows soon to follow. Other days of the Indian Summer breed with deep blue cloudless skies allowing the sun’s generative strength to warm the body and soul of anyone wandering the out of doors. Most trees have shed their leaves preparing for their season of sleep. The occasional oak tenaciously holds onto the last of its foliage, now brown and crisp; these will finally be expelled by new buds of spring. The smell of wood fires fill the air as families began their seasonal ritual of warming their living spaces. Anticipation of harvest celebration is evident as bittersweet drapes itself in its orange/yellow splendor along road sides and decorates farm stands and pumpkin patches.

These are good days for schooling. Children have settled into the routine of learning and growing, friends and play, homework and family activities. They are ready and eager to learn; the school year is becoming familiar but the newness has not yet worn off. Backpacks filled with the artifacts of a child’s school life are opened each morning as classmates greet one another at desks and near coat racks. Papers, books, lunches, sometimes stuffed animals and other special treasures pour forth from these youngsters’ overnight bags and are often awarded special places for the day in the teaching and learning habitats. There is, however, in many big cities, small towns, and quaint villages throughout the test driven, Adequate Yearly Progress, standardized classrooms of the Northeast, an uneasiness about the teaching and learning occurring during these ephemeral fall days that has its roots in the accountability agenda of No Child Left Behind.

Recently, I had the occasion to review some of the research and writing I produced about a decade ago to see what “things have changed”. Currently, extensive narrative and storytelling on blogs, in news print, and media tell us of the implementation of curriculum and instructional practices, particularly in urban and high needs communities that are research based and teacher proof to insure “Success for All” and “Reading First” will not leave children behind. Although these classrooms, many of which I have visited while supervising student teachers during the last few years, cause me to think of the schooling that must have occurred on the planet Camazotz in the Madeleine L'Engle book A Wrinkle in Time, I am often heartened to see the “rebel” teacher also using research based instructional strategies that embrace a constructivist platform to engage children in meaningful, socially and academically engaging learning acquisitions. More on this later, but for now, let me take you to some classrooms of a decade ago. Please know that names are not real!!!


History:

It all began about twenty years ago when overcrowded classrooms and buildings caused many traditional kindergarten through sixth grade elementary schools to reorganize into kindergarten through fourth grade configurations. This reorganization rippled upward moving fifth through eighth grade into the junior high schools which was then being renamed “middle school” to honor this domino manipulation. Throughout the next decade school districts continued to grapple with various declining and increasing enrollment situations; extensive renovation to existing schools and the building of new schools stretched the tax dollars of all communities to critical points. This too had an impact on instruction! Some districts recognized that fifth graders were more suited to an elementary (K-5) configuration rather than the middle school (6-8) structure. Traditional teachers however were quite comfortable with the departmentalized, didactic, curriculum as fact instructional program of the middle school a.k.a. junior high school. Their teaching and learning program was philosophically and pragmatically worlds apart from the dialectic, curriculum as activity, dialogic, curriculum as inquiry, learner centered, and literacy based elementary program. It was a challenge for them to assimilate into the integrated instructional practice of elementary teaching and learning. As teaching and learning today gives short shift to most curricula that is not reading, math, or science, I wonder just how far we have really progressed in our goal to not leave any child behind.


Method:

As an administrator in one of these typical reconfigured districts, I began making many classroom visits during a November in the late 90s, recording what I was seeing and sharing these observations with grade level teachers. These contemporaneous recordings, and in some cases participant observations of classrooms, became a component of the fodder for the articulation of curriculum, instruction, and assessment with all elementary teaching staff. I visited eleven elementary fifth grade classrooms in four schools during these “good fall days for teaching and learning”. All teachers except one were in these elementary school fifth grade positions as a result of being involuntarily transferred to the elementary setting for this year’s teaching assignment. Although each of the eleven offered interesting scenarios individually, what actually became quite intriguing were three classrooms in one of the elementary schools. These classrooms, located side by side along one corridor of the school, and the teachers within, presented distinctly different styles of teaching and distinctly different environments for learning. Even colleagues commented on how different the classroom instruction and “atmosphere” seemed to be for each of these fifth grades. This may or may not be. Only the readers of this monograph will make that determination individually by agreeing, disagreeing, or challenging the conclusions of this recorder.

During these November days I visited each fifth grade classroom for about two hours at about the same time of day on three consecutive days. In an attempt to portray the reality of classroom practice without distorting the situation with pre-ordinate theories, research designs, or protocols, the following description is being offered to create an opportunity for the reader to develop a deeper meaning of the curriculum and instruction being practiced in these fifth grade classrooms. For narrative sake I have created three categories, the whip, the pointer, and the pom-pom from which to view the classrooms. I apologize for any pre-judgment this categorization may cause.


The Whip:

The classroom had a circus quality to it. Like the big cats, the children seemed to fear this trainer. Much like the lions and tigers in the center ring of cages, children had their places to be in this room and clearly knew better than to move about. The teacher also added to the circus atmosphere. She was bedecked in a manner fitting her stately and demanding position. Ms. Barnum was wearing a smartly tailored, sleek fitting black suit, which accented her beauty pageant figure. From head to toe, her erect posture, in black heels and newly highlighted auburn hair, curly and shoulder length, exemplified authority. Gold jewelry, including ear rings, rings on four fingers, bracelets and necklaces provided accents. Her lips were vivid red and coordinated with her fingernails. Cheekbones were brushed to a radiant glow and her smile, which seemed to be pasted on, glistened with white, perfectly aligned teeth.

In random piles and stacks throughout the room were packets of ditto assignments waiting to be distributed. Books were scattered on these piles, also on shelves and counters, but not desks! The artifacts of children’s learning, in various stages of completion dotted the class-scape. This classroom found children seated at desks in groups. There were 17 children in the class when this observation began. They were working on a math sheet and as they did parts of the assignment, they brought the papers to Ms. Barnum to be checked. At most times there were two to four children standing near Ms. Barnum who had positioned herself in front of the room. She stepped quickly to the side of the room to sit at her desk and continued checking papers. Children stood in line, others worked at their desks. Ms. Barnum demanded “NO TALKING” in here on three occasions. One child was putting clothing in a bag. Another was looking through a file folder. Still another was writing and reading. A couple of children were coloring. One boy spent most of the time playing with a pen and a box of materials (tape, pencils, scissors, etc.). One boy stood by his desk most of the time, occasionally sitting in his chair and softly talking to anyone who would listen. Another boy was coloring and visiting with those around him. Ms. Barnum continued to “instruct” individuals at her desk by going over a decimal point problem and asking questions like “What’s the biggest?” “How many tens do we want?” “What’s our number?”

She left the desk area and asked if everyone had handed in their math tests. She announced to the class that they would get all the other materials (projects, written assignments, dittos, etc.) completed today. She asked children to take out of their desks the Indian packets. She cautioned children about talking and reminded them to put everything about Indians all together in one packet. Children rummaged through their desks looking for additional pieces to include in their packets. She directed the children to pass forward these packets. Clearly, some were not ready to do this and continued to look for additional parts of this assignment.

A teaching assistant was working individually with four children in one corner of the room when Ms. Barnum instructed all children to “be in your seats”. Sixteen children remained at their desks while three children continued to work with the teaching assistant at a table on the side of the room. Ms. Barnum handed out a test and said she would go over directions. She asked to have all eyes on her after the children put their names on the paper. “One of the most important things to do is to listen.” Ms. Barnum went over the directions on the test and read the words on the test. She explained that these words were used in the story they had recently read. She read the directions for the true and false portion of the test, and told children that if a statement was false they were to write “why” it was false on the back of the paper. She continued to read the test “so that no one would have trouble with the words”. Children were motionless but not necessarily attentive.


The Pointer:

Standing behind a podium in the front of the classroom, just barely able to see over the top to survey the class, stood Ms. Jones. She was dressed in slacks and a blouse with brown tie shoes. A cardigan sweater, unbuttoned, hung loosely to her waist. She possessed no visible signs of makeup. Her squat body poised to begin giving directions.

Children were seated in paired rows with an occasional third desk strung to the side of the pair. All students were working on a “test” in language and using the English text and a “check-up” page for the evaluation. Children’s attention was focused on the teacher or the assignment on their desks. Ms. Jones moved across the front of the room with determination and precision to a table in another area still at the front of the room. As children completed this test, Ms. Jones reminded them to complete their “resolutions”. Occasionally, children would bring a paper to Ms. Jones and ask a question or have it reviewed. She reminded some children to complete their English assignment before going on to the next assignment.

Assignments for the day were listed on the board and included: Math pages and examples, Spelling, English, Social Studies, The Specific English Review and other items that needed to be completed including three additional assignments: a word puzzle, resolutions and ‘96 memories. Using a yard stick as she spoke, Ms. Jones pointed to each assignment on the blackboard as a CEO would do if outlining the business strategy for the month to a room of sales representatives. Children were told they could get their snack but needed to continue working while they ate. A business, working lunch seemed to be alive and well in this fifth grade. As they finished the English Review, children worked on worksheets about “resolutions” and a crossword puzzle. Ms. Jones spoke to the class about the crossword puzzle and a correction that needed to be made. She told them the puzzle was not due until tomorrow and that they should do other things first.

A bit of time passed before Ms. Jones began to move around the classroom. She went to one student at his desk and spoke to him about his resolutions, suggesting he needed to include a bit more detail in each “resolution”. She returned to the front of the room and added “November terms” to the list of things to do. Children continued to work on the assignments as listed while Ms. Jones spoke individually with children at the front of the room.


The Pom Pom:

Ms. Bauer positioned herself at the front of the classroom holding a piece of chalk, poised to place the numbers and symbols of math on the blackboard for the children of the class. Her dress was casual. A paid jumper, turtleneck shirt, and blazer of muted autumn heather gave the appearance of a recent visit to L.L. Bean. Long, straight brown hair parted on the side and extending below her shoulders, along with brown leather boots completed the country girl look. Her smile was inviting and her voice was pleasant, supportive, and encouraging.

Children were seated at desks in rows. Ms. Bauer asked children to take math books out of their desks. She introduced the activity as: “We are going to do some ‘rounding’ today. Have your rules ready! Let’s try some at the board.” She asked two children to come to the blackboard and bring their rules which they would use to assist them in rounding two numbers she placed on the board. The children rounded the numbers as Ms. Bauer described what the children were doing. During her description she would refer to the list of rules for rounding numbers which the children carried with them.

Ms. Bauer asked these children to choose another number and put that number on the board. The children were then instructed to give a set of directions to their classmates to round the new numbers. As this activity proceeded, many hands went into the air from students around the classroom eager to take their turn at writing on the blackboard. Ms. Bauer encouraged the new children at the blackboard as she pointed out what “right” things they did.

Ms. Bauer continued this “rounding off” activity by having two more problems and sets of directions created by the current children at the blackboard. While the next pair of children was working at the blackboard, Ms. Bauer placed a piece of math paper on each child’s desk. A whole class assignment was about to begin, but not before more chalk and board activity. As the children “worked” their problems on the blackboard, Ms. Bauer “talked” them through their activity, identifying the correctness of their performance. She asked them to verbalize (state) the problem and directions for a new set of numbers they were placing on the blackboard. Again, hands waved in the air as if a parade of dancers had just passed by the class room windows. A new pair of mathematicians went to the board to solve these problems. And again, Ms. Bauer reviewed the problems when they were completed. She pointed out the good process and the successful responses with encouraging words.

Everyone was now seated as Ms. Bauer told children to use the paper at their desks; they would be rounding addends and sums. She asked what kinds of numbers were being used. One child responded “addition” problems. Ms. Bauer set up an example at the blackboard and then walked around the room to make sure each child “set up” their paper with space so they could round the addends. One child asked if he should write this in his math journal. Ms. Bauer agreed it would be a good idea, but not right now. She wrote a rule on the board about estimating sums and then strolled across the classroom to help two children “set up” papers. She asked everyone to round the addends and “estimate” the sum. Ms. Bauer described this process and suggested they do another one. She said she would come around to assist and check. She encouraged with words as the children completed the task. As children finished this problem, they sat quietly or raised their hands.


Concluding Thoughts:

I can’t help but think of Maxine Greene’s provocative wisdom in her book Releasing the Imagination as she tells us “classrooms ought to be nurturing and thoughtful and just all at once...[and] ought to resound with the voices of young people in dialogues always incomplete because there is always more to be discussed…” Does that make you wonder about these three fifth grade classrooms? There just didn’t seem to be any “dialogue”! But maybe I was too preoccupied with regimen and structure and environment and fashion and teacher language to hear children’s language. The similarities in instruction practice were not easily seen just passing by these rooms as evidenced by the positions of many other professionals who frequently commented on the “differences” from one classroom to the next and how these styles and practices were a “good fit” for particular children in those classrooms. Yet to me, there existed a homogenized curriculum of fact and didactic instruction processes. This was clearly evident in the teachers’ directions to the class, the form of questioning that was occurring, the location and arrangement of student seating, and the focus on a singular academic discipline that blocked any attempt by the students to integrate disciplines. (Recall the student who asked about writing in his math journal but was told that it wasn’t an appropriate time?) Although there were distinct differences in classroom atmosphere, the instruction practices were painfully uniform and absent of student engagement. These classrooms were teacher directed and content centered.

Do teachers and students need to engage in dialogue and established a process for learning with joint responsibilities and mutual growth? It didn’t seem as though it was even on the radar screen at that time. Have we made any substantive progress in the last five to ten years that would indicate these practices have changed? Or are we in the same instructional place leaving many children behind while we continue to “teach” content rather than children? We understand that interactive communication and interdisciplinary instruction are crucial components of teaching processes for children if learning is to occur. Part of the development of children’s minds occurs through the engagement in dialogue with adults about common interests. This allows children the opportunity to express personal beliefs. Engaging children in their learning, making them the designers of, rather than objects of instruction, and connecting their personal experiences to their needs, creates relevant learning. Is this what is truly happening in our “Success for All” and “Reading First” classrooms of today as teachers march through pieces of standardized content that demonstrate connectedness to states’ high stakes tests but have little, if any, connectedness to meaningful hands-on, minds-on socially provocative, interdisciplinary learning for life? Do you think these fifth grade teachers ever recognized that children need to become developers of their own education? And what about the thinking of teachers today? Any changes in the recognition of children’s needs from then to now? Children should no longer be the object of a lesson to be taught or information to be poured into them as if they are an empty container. Instead, might we consider learners as decision makers, problem solvers, and communicators? Conversations occurring between and among students provide opportunities for all members of the classroom to sparkle in their own right. All that glitters in classrooms is not necessarily intended to be the gold jewelry worn by the teachers!

Sadly, it seems to me that today’s teaching and learning practices have made little, if any, significant improvement from the practices of ten and twenty years ago. The “Three Rs”, read, remember, regurgitate, have new life in the NCLB accountability agenda that praises standards more than students, content more than communication, and government regulations more than educational research. Maybe it is time for the education pendulum to be swinging in the direction of socially just and morally responsible teaching and learning. Could that be possible?