the hardest thing about being an educator is being ridiculed for having passion for the success of my students.

i had to learn the hard way that being an educator is NOT what everyone thinks it is. when an educator INTENTIONALLY chooses to educate, it seems to be an insult to anyone who fell into this profession. thus, when i set high expectations of my kids, i'm demeaned for being "unrealistic" and "giving too much." What a joke.
over a year ago

Cynthia I'm not a teacher, but I have an M.Ed in the History of Education. Being an "immigrant" country, I think Canada and the United States have a challenge of culture clashes between our education system and the school systems of the immigrants' home countries. There are, of course, language challenges (which can easily be fixed by ESL or translators (provided that you can find volunteers)), but also North American school cultures. This can include parent-teacher interviews (in some cultures, Mom and Dad only go into school if the kid is in trouble. It isn't a regular thing done each semester), the way children are taught (rote versus thinking for themselves) and even extra-curricular activities (at my high school, all Grade 9 students had to participate in a sport for at least one season. Those who were not athletic (like me) helped with a team. In some cultures, extra-curricular activities do not exist. Kids go to school and are expected home by 4 pm to study. Period.) or courses that kids are "supposed" to take (you might think that the typical Asian kid doesn't have "school issues" because they tend to do well and go to college, but take a close look at a typical AP Calculus class versus say, AP European History. There are disproportionately more Asians in the former than the latter. Oftentimes, the kids are pressured by their families to take certain courses. I mean, does every kid in AP Calc want to take AP Calc?) There could also be issues surrounding culture that doesn't directly have anything to do with school (e.g. what girls are expected to do versus what boys are, etc...) Instead of being extra-sensitive about respecting other cultures, what we need to do is inform parents of how school in this part of the world works. I am sure parents have many questions.
over a year ago

Marcia The hardest thing about being an educator is dealing with toxic culture and trying to maintain an optimistic, hopeful attitude. The system is broken and even the most positive and compassionate person can be swept away and their beliefs tainted. Teaching in a school that did not focus on the true needs of our children literally smothered my spirit. The impaired system created circumstances that violated my core values on a daily basis. I witnessed a system strip children of opportunities for success. The biggest challenge is remaining hopeful and not feeling guilty because you are part of a broken system. The biggest challenge is maintaining purpose and pride in why you chose to be a teacher in the first place.
over a year ago

Christina

I teach in a Title1, high minority, high poverty, high turnaround, low parent involvement, school. However, we have maintained a "Recognized" state rating for the last 3 yrs. i know that we worked our butts off (teachers and students) for that rating. it bugs the crap out of me that other schools in our district that are not title1, have low minorities, and low poverty levels get the same rating as us. i know teachers there and they will admit they dont have to work as hard beacuse they have the parent involvement and the higher class of studetns. this whole ratings system SUCKS! fine, rate the schools. but take in account more than state test scores and attendance. take into account the obstacles that the studetns and teachers have to overcome. take into account the progress the school is making. pretty much, i think the whole standardized testing, NCLB is a bunch of BS and the cause of our declining education system!
over a year ago

Christina lol...i got a little carried away! here are my biggest challenges 1. school is not a top priority in parents or students lives 2. standardized testing 3. not being able to teach how i want becasue of district/state guidelines on what they think teaching should look like! ok, that's all for now :-)
over a year ago

Dan Good question. The hardest thing about being a teacher is trying to teach kids who don't want to learn. I taught in inner city LA for 25 years. I was a pretty good high school math teacher - was a finalist for 2003 College Board AP Teacher of the Year. San Fernando High School is the mirror image of Escalante's Garfield. And we nearly had his results for a few years by doing what he did. Identify the kids who can do the work and work their butts off. Yes, make the class as fun and interesting as possible. Implement technology, cooperative learning, problem solving, but there is no royal road to geometry! It takes work. Work for teachers too. Almost everything we did was against what my union would have liked. We stayed after school. Made kids attend school year round for math. Came in on Saturdays. It worked for those kids. That's just part of the story. I always taught at least two Algebra 1 classes. Those kids need more help than anyone. And there in lies the problem. You can't help somebody who doesn't wish to be helped. You have a class of 30 kids, maybe 22-25 show up. 15 of those kids are there everyday. The other 7-10 show up a few times a week. Maybe five are big discipline problems. Did I send them out? Sometimes. Did I call their parents? Yes. Was there anyway to control a lot of these kids? No. So what happens to the average teacher? Many take the road of least resistance . Many teachers think about what will make their day easiest and not what can be done to help the kids who want to learn. You want education reform in this country? Do what they did in NYC to address crime. It's called the broken windows strategy. Worry about the little things. In education, that means working on: dress, language, tagging, behavior in class, coming to school with proper materials. In short give control back to teachers and get lawyers out of our schools.

The only thing that would get a rise out of LAUSD administrators was a lawyer. And nobody was suing to return civility to our schools. I put in about 35 years of teaching in my 25. Twelve years coaching Academic Decathlon, four years running the LA Marathon with kids. When they offered early retirements last year (due to California's budget woes) I took one. I miss teaching but I don't miss kids who can't be bothered to give any effort. Inner city public education in this country is a calamity - a daily catastrophe for kids and teachers. Why? Because we have abdicated our responsibilities as adults. Now, you got me started. Dan Hart San Fernando H.S. LAUSD - retired

over a year ago

Susan The hardest thing about being a teacher - high school science for 16 years - was interference from those who had no idea what it was like to be in a real classroom. So called educators whose only exposure to teaching children was theory. Interference from parents who really didn't care what their children were learning, who only cared that the child got a "good grade", interference from school boards and administrators who were afraid of parents and who only wanted to look good, who didn't really care what the children were learning.
over a year ago

Tony From a middle and secondary (high) school science teacher, the issues I am reading about are the same in Australia. Although, some of the terminology I do not understand. The problem is that everyone thinks they know what teaching is all about because they have all been in a classroom at one stage or another. Therefore, everyone has an opinion about what is wrong and what is right about teaching. From experience many people resent the amount of holidays that teachers get but many wouldn't like to teach. But the same people are quite happy to tell you how to do your job. I came into teaching later in life from having "normal" jobs but I wouldn't swap the being a teacher for anything in the world. I love it and over the 13 years I have been doing it I have learnt two very important lessons and they are (1) you don't teach for the money, and (2) it is not a job you can do by yourself. That is, it needs to be a partnership with the school administration, your colleagues, home and the students themselves. So my biggest challenges are the same as those identified above - apathy and school reform by bureaucrats (public servants) who should but don't know better. In Australia, The federal government is about to introduce a national curriculum so there is much angst about what it will mean for the teachers and students. But if I know anything and this is evidenced also by the previous posts and that

is that teachers just get on with it for the sake of the students. So for all the teachers, past and present, pat yourselves and your colleagues on the back for a job well done because you deserve it.
over a year ago

Karen The hardest thing for me was making the choice to give up my career to home school my children so that I could be confident their education would be excellent. I still teach other home schooled children in my areas of expertise, and I love it. I am inspired by their passion, independence, and willingness to speak up. They are not smarter than average kids, but as their parents have instilled values of personal responsibility, kindness, and diligence, they are more mature than their peers. I have two doctorate degrees, but I am not qualified to teach in public school. How many willing, passionate teachers are we either stifling with bureaucracy or denying our children? When some private and parochial schools are delivering twice the education at half the cost as public, why are our taxes hemorrhaging into the failed system? Let the children have the best education possible! Let their parents decide. Stop it with the ridiculousness of, "competition is a bad thing," and "you are good regardless of your effort, behavior, or performance." What kind of crazy nonsense is that? It's the crazy nonsense that keeps poorly performing schools and teachers taking our tax money and failing our children - without a bit of guilt.

over a year ago

Meagan I am a relatively new teacher (this fall will be the beginning of my fourth year) and have worked exclusively in high poverty/high need schools. My school has a 92-97% rate of free and reduced lunch-most students qualify for free lunch. We have about 550 students, 65 are ELL who score at a pre-basic level for English proficiency, and 65+ in our special education program. So, nearly all of our students live in some form of poverty, mostly generational poverty, and nearly 25% arrive with special needs. Of course, all of our students must take our state mandated tests and we are penalized if they do not pass. Our school did not make adequate yearly progress for 2008-09 and we will face sanctions if our Special Education "cell" does not make adequate progress. In my class last year, I had a student from Iraq who survived bombings, break-ins, beatings, and who knows what else. She came to school in September with only enough English to say, "I no have English." By the end of the year we were conversing relatively fluently about her life in the US and her experiences in Iraq. She came to my fifth grade class able to add and subtract and left able to multiply multiple digit numbers and perform simple division--all this with no English. Interested to know why? Her parents cared. A lot. Her mother and father also couldn't speak English, but through lots of body language and a lovely translator, they made it clear that their expectations for their daughter were high. When N. had problems with hitting other students or chose not to apply herself, a call to her parents solved the problem. N. has drive and focus and lots of love at home. Her basic needs are met--she comes to school clean and well fed with a clear purpose in mind. On the other hand, I have had parents hit their children in front of me during conferences. I have had

parents come to conferences drunk, on drugs, or so tired from working 3 jobs to try to survive that they nod off in the middle. I have parents who will not come to conferences because they feel that it is my job to educate their child without any input or support from them. I have parents who will not return phone calls, who don't have phones, who can't read, who are incarcerated, who are so overwhelmed by the social and economic poverty in their lives that they can't get out of bed. I have parents who are evicted from their homes every 2-3 months so their child rotates schools. (One student last year enrolled in our school 4 times.) So, the most difficult thing about being an educator is the limited amount of power I really have. I see students for 6 hours a day (not counting specialists and lunch). The other 18 hours are up to society and their parents. I can do a lot in 6 hours (o.k., 4.5 hours), but I cannot fix it when dads disappear, eviction notices are posted, ear and tooth infections aren't treated, raging parties interfere with sleep, arrests come in the middle of the night...I could go on, but why? Schools with lottery systems pre-select by having parents who care about their child's education put in their names to begin with. Charter schools often have parents commit to behavior and academic standards for their child. My school takes all comers. We do it willingly and with love. We work our hearts out to care for and educate all of our students, but because N. (or B. or J. or C.) can't pass the state tests (and probably won't for the next 3-5 years--it takes that long at least for academic proficiency in language to develop) I haven't taught them well enough. Sigh.
over a year ago

Susan Many of us have been there, many of us share your frustration. We also live for the students like N. I have always said, if I can reach one student a year, I feel I have been sucessful. Often it has been more. The biggest delight of my life has been those students who come to me at the end of the year saying that " I never liked science before, but I love it now (or like it, or tolerate it) it is not all frustration - there are many good times, which is why so many teachers put up with the bad administration policies, the politics and the apathetic parents

over a year ago

Christina @megan...my thoughts exactly!

over a year ago

Paul I am curious about this film, but I have my doubts when I see it applauded by Charter School advocates. I really hope it tells the truth about how NCLB and lack of adequate funding have combined to destroy education. My experience is nowhere near as extreme as Megan's (the high school where I teach is about 55-60% free/reduced lunch). I applaud her and all the other teachers like her who work

in incredibly difficult situations because they love kids and want to see them succeed. The same story comes up again and again: we have been done a disservice by our federal government in the name of "saving" education, and there doesn't seem to be any real relief in sight. There are thousands of dedicated teachers battling apathy and a culture that doesn't respect what they do.
over a year ago

Paul From the Huffington Post review of the film: "However, the film's conclusion is as simplistic as it is misleading: charter schools are good, and public schools, as they stand currently, are bankrupt... even more curious, the film undercuts its own message midstream by reporting that 'only one in five charters is producing good results.'"
over a year ago

Susan back to one of the biggest problems in education - good ideas that are not allowed to develop due to interference by people who have never been a teacher but still have the gall to call themselves educators
over a year ago

Jennifer Someone already pretty much posted exactly what my biggest problem as an Ex-educator was...."the hardest thing about being an educator is being ridiculed for having passion for the success of my students". I taught for over 14 years and the last several years I was amazed at how I was picked on for being excited about teaching. I was told by my principal to "reel my passion in" because some of the other teachers were getting upset. She said she was tired of talking calls/requests from other parents because they wanted to know why I was doing all of these cool, exciting/hands-on activities and their child's teacher wasn't. She said it made the other teachers look bad because they didn't want to take the time to plan out interesting lessons plans that went above the scripted book lessons that were required of them. I used to LOVE coming in every day to see the kids excited faces- I loved watching them explore and seeing the lightbulb come on and then I was slowly beaten down to "go with the flow" and stop going above the norm. I actually had collegues upset at me that I went above and beyond. I lost my passion and realized that I was going to be made to change into something I didn't want to be...so I left the profession and now channel my teaching passion into homeschooling my son and helping other homeschoolers.
over a year ago

Ellen When do we address the attitude of the parents and families that trickle down to the students. Taught for 35 years in a great PUBLIC school district and everything worth anything is worth the effort of change so yes I agree change in the public schools is needed. The parents, administrators and the governments have taken the support away from the teachers in the classroom so that we have to move mountains just to get students to want to succeed. Students, I might add, that don't want to learn and just stand there daily with their arms crossed across their chests saying, I dare you to teach me anything cause my parents say you and the public school system suck. This attitude did not start until around the 90's. Comment to the makers of Waiting for Superman....get your facts straight!

Capitalize on students' existing needs. Students learn best when incentives for learning in a classroom satisfy their own motives for enrolling in the course. Some of the needs your students may bring to the classroom are the need to learn something in order to complete a particular task or activity, the need to seek new experiences, the need to perfect skills, the need to overcome challenges, the need to become competent, the need to succeed and do well, the need to feel involved and to interact with other people. Satisfying such needs is rewarding in itself, and such rewards sustain learning more effectively than do grades. Design assignments, in-class activities, and discussion questions to address these kinds of needs. (Source: McMillan and Forsyth, 1991) Make students active participants in learning. Students learn by doing, making, writing, designing, creating, solving. Passivity dampens students' motivation and curiosity. Pose questions. Don't tell students something when you can ask them. Encourage students to suggest approaches to a problem or to guess the results of an experiment. Use small group work. See "Leading a Discussion," "Supplements and Alternatives to Lecturing," and "Collaborative Learning" for methods that stress active participation. (Source: Lucas, 1990) Ask students to analyze what makes their classes more or less "motivating." Sass (1989) asks his classes to recall two recent class periods, one in which they were highly motivated and one in which their motivation was low. Each student makes a list of specific aspects of the two classes that influenced his or her level of motivation, and students then meet in small groups to reach consensus on characteristics that contribute to high and low motivation. In over twenty courses, Sass reports, the same eight characteristics emerge as major contributors to student motivation:

Instructor's enthusiasm Relevance of the material Organization of the course Appropriate difficulty level of the material Active involvement of students Variety Rapport between teacher and students Use of appropriate, concrete, and understandable examples Help students set achievable goals for themselves. Failure to attain unrealistic goals can disappoint and frustrate students. Encourage students to focus on their continued

improvement, not just on their grade on any one test or assignment. Help students evaluate their progress by encouraging them to critique their own work, analyze their strengths, and work on their weaknesses. For example, consider asking students to submit self-evaluation forms with one or two assignments. (Sources: Cashin, 1979; Forsyth and McMillan, 1991) Tell students what they need to do to succeed in your course. Don't let your students struggle to figure out what is expected of them. Reassure students that they can do well in your course, and tell them exactly what they must do to succeed. Say something to the effect that "If you can handle the examples on these problem sheets, you can pass the exam. People who have trouble with these examples can ask me for extra help." Or instead of saying, "You're way behind," tell the student, "Here is one way you could go about learning the material. How can I help you?" (Sources: Cashin, 1979; Tiberius, 1990) Strengthen students' self-motivation. Avoid messages that reinforce your power as an instructor or that emphasize extrinsic rewards. Instead of saying, "I require," "you must," or "you should," stress "I think you will find. . . " or "I will be interested in your reaction." (Source: Lowman, 1990) Avoid creating intense competition among students. Competition produces anxiety, which can interfere with learning. Reduce students' tendencies to compare themselves to one another. Bligh (1971) reports that students are more attentive, display better comprehension, produce more work, and are more favorable to the teaching method when they work cooperatively in groups rather than compete as individuals. Refrain from public criticisms of students' performance and from comments or activities that pit students against each other. (Sources: Eble, 1988; Forsyth and McMillan, 1991) Be enthusiastic about your subject. An instructor's enthusiasm is a crucial factor in student motivation. If you become bored or apathetic, students will too. Typically, an instructor's enthusiasm comes from confidence, excitement about the content, and genuine pleasure in teaching. If you find yourself uninterested in the material, think back to what attracted you to the field and bring those aspects of the subject matter to life for your students. Or challenge yourself to devise the most exciting way topresent the material, however dull the material itself may seem to you.

When leaving their university settings for actual school settings, there is a tremendous amount of pressure on student teachers. The expectations placed on them are high, whether by their mentor teachers, their university facilitators, their university instructors, or themselves. Upon entering the school, student teachers find themselves in an unknown situation facing a variety of challenges which may include the following:

Stress of interacting with students: No matter how many Pedagogical Content classes a student teacher takes regarding classroom management and child/adolescent development, actually being around students is an overwhelming feeling. Student teachers feel pressure to behave in a professional manner while developing a good rapport with the students. They can also find themselves exhausted after such a long day of interaction, especially having come from a much more individualized university setting.

Mentor teacher relationship: Students teachers also feel a great deal of stress around the relationship that will develop between them and their mentor teachers. This relationship is extremely important for the length of the practica and often sets the tone for a student teacher's experience. Planning and teaching: Having to plan their own lessons is a challenging experience for many student teachers, especially taking into account that they they are being constantly evaluated by their mentor teachers. Student teachers must learn to create diverse and engaging lessons; they must then learn how to put those into action, something which is easier said than done. New environment: Student teachers can also feel challenged and out of their element simply by being in this new school environment. It is difficult to get to know the staff or the practices as quick as one would like. Until this is accomplished, student teachers can feel very out of their element which adds to their stress. Evaluation: Student teachers also feel a great deal of pressure to perform well in front of their mentor teachers as they are very aware that the evaluation from their MTs will be very influential in their future job searches.

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How can student teachers maximize their growth in their practica?

Despite the fact that practicum experiences are extremely challenging, there are ample opportunities for growth for student teachers. Student teachers who are aware of these opportunities and take advantage of them will take a lot more away from their practica experiences.

Resources: Being in a school gives a student teacher access to a wide variety of resources that they can use in their practicum or in their future teaching experience. The mentor teacher is the most obvious source of resources and student teachers are encouraged to ask their MT for permission to look at their resources. The school library is also an excellent place for student teachers to look for resources as well as the collections of various departments. Relationships: Student teachers are also encouraged to make an effort to develop relationships within the school. These can be useful not only during the practicum itself as staff can help a great deal about the school and its policies, but connections made with staff during a practicum can often be helpful later on in ones career. Extra-curricular: The student teacher's experience is unique due to its brevity as well as the many opportunities afforded student teachers to experiment with different extra-curricular activities. Student teachers are not required to stick only within their field of experience, the school is always in need of volunteers in many different areas and is happy for any help. Having a wide range of activities on ones resume is useful when applying for jobs in the future. Different classroom experiences: Often in a student teachers practicum, they are asked to teach an area in which they have very little experience. Despite this being an extremely stressful situation for the student teacher, it promotes a great

deal of growth as it mimics a real-life teaching situation since teachers can expect to teach several different courses. It also shows the school and mentor teacher that the student teacher is capable of taking on a challenge. This reflects positively on the student teacher's ability and flexibility. Observation: Over the course of one's teaching career, many teachers express the desire to have more opportunities to observe other teachers. Student teachers are in a prime position for plenty of observation experiences, and not only in their subject of choice. Student teachers are encouraged to observe several different subjects and teachers so as to gain an idea of the variety of teaching styles and possibilities for classroom arrangement.

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What are some tips for student teachers?

Taking the above information into account, there are several tips that student teachers should take into account when embarking on their practicum experiences:

Be professional: Take care when interacting with staff and students in the school. There are behavioural expectations for everyone, including student teachers. Dress appropriately, be punctual and be respectful at all times. Dont expect perfection: Lesson planning, creating a rapport with students, interacting with other teachers, these are all skills that are developed over time. Be patient, make an honest effort, and those around you will recognize your desire to improve. Be open to new experiences: As mentioned above, each school is full of different classes, clubs, teams and activities. Dont be afraid to try out something new. Be organized: Lesson planning can be stressful, as can the long days and the work that is necessary afterwards. Being as organized as possible will minimize unnecessary stress. Keep a daily planner to organize important dates and responsibilities, and try to keep your lessons in a planbook so you and your mentor teacher can access them easily. Dont forget your life: The practica experiences are stressful and time consuming, but it is important to maintain a balance. Set aside certain times for activities that keep you mentally, physically and emotionally stable; this will make you a far better teacher.

I have been conducting workshops for and with teachers for over thirty years. During this time there have been two consistent responses from teachers throughout the world: teachers need to regularly 'recharge their batteries' and be inspired; and they are constantly seeking new strategies, activities and ideas to expand their repertoires. In this component of the website the aim is to share well proven BEST practices with other second language teachers. I cannot take credit for all of the ideas, nor can I point to all of their original sources. Unfortunately, in the oral culture of the

teaching world we do not adequately track the sources of our ideas, inspirations or adaptations. However, I am happy to provide space for sharing PCK and do hope that the activities and ideas from this site will respond to your needs, spark your creativity in working with SL learners of all ages and inspire you to be the best that you can be. In this section you will find strategies and activities for the SL classroom. These activities have been divided into six categories although there is occasional overlap between them. 1. Getting It/Using It Activities: These activities can be used in many contexts and in many subjects to get students to understand, remember and learn through the language. 2. Routine Activities: These activities can be used daily, weekly or on a regular basis to provide opportunities for students to use language routinely and insure the recycling of vocabulary, phrases and concepts. 3. Tasks and Projects: These ideas concentrate on larger tasks or projects which can act as the basis on which to build units. 4. Oral Language Development: These strategies can be used to develop oral language in the classroom. 5. Literacy Development: This page includes some ideas for developing literacy in the language classroom. 6. Four Skills: These strategies demonstrate ways in which the four skills (reading, writing, speaking and listening) can be incorporated into activities at the same time.