Flipping Out Over Academic Program Flip-Flopping

From My Side of the Desk:

Flipping out over academic program flip-flopping

During the last few weeks, I have been absorbed in a self-imposed refresher course which details various classroom techniques that promote in-depth comprehension, stronger writing, and higher level thinking skills and that will show students that learning is exciting and fun. What I have concluded is that one heck of a lot of programs exist, each one espousing how its system will: Turn every student into an eager learner, send test scores soaring into the High Proficiency Zone, electrify thinking and reasoning skills, and create a love for learning in the hearts of each and every student. Um, I don’t think so. No One Size Fits All method exists because no one type of teacher or one type of student strolls through the halls of academia. And, Hamlet, if I may amend one of your most famous lines, let me just say that, “Something is clogging the minds of school administrators, and it is Propaganda.”

During my thirty-plus years in the classroom, I have been exposed to and exhorted to adopt various educational methodologies: The Skillful Teacher, Differentiated Teaching and Learning Styles, 4-Mat (Right Brain, Left Brain and Whole Brain) Instruction, and Backwards Design, to name a few. My research this week has led me to Flipping Classrooms and Project-Based Learning. On the positive side, each and every one of these programs offers excellent advice on how teachers can create student-centered classrooms, the best kind of education in my book. From these sources, I've gathered manyengaging ideas that made me a better planner and more capable guide. Others, well, they didn't quite ring the Classroom Reality bell.

On the negative side, I’ve noted that what’s good for science and math classrooms might not work well in English and Social Studies sections. And what about World Languages, Business/Marketing/IT classes, Music, Art, Family Consumer Science, Special Ed, ESOL, and Physical Education? Which method, if any, should schools adopt that would address the needs of all of these departments? Also, a few of the trending programs would cost a good deal of money to implement and most school systems’ budgets are stretched to the max as it is. So are teachers’ planning periods.

What bothers me most of all is that as soon as a new educational theory explodes on the Internet, in academic publications and in the media, the others are dropped as fast as a last second Hail Mary pass into the end zone during the Super Bowl. Why? Because the Propaganda Beast has once again captured the minds of those who make the pedagogical decisions for a school district. In the quest to Leave No Child Behind, last year’s In is now this year’s Out. I can just imagine the conversation in the administrators’ conference rooms.

            “Oh my, we’d better jump on that Bandwagon while there is still room. Everyone else is doing this, we should, too,” said the Superman/woman. “Besides, this concept appeals to all schools, be they urban, suburban, small town or rural. All of the Plain Folks love it.”

            “Oh, this is nothing but Card Stacking. What about the negatives?” said Sally Skeptic as she shuffled through the piles of files on Program X. “All they show here are the Glittering Generalities. This information is pretty one-sided, if you ask me.”

            “Oh, Sally, Sally, Sally,” Superman/woman said with a shake of the head, “just look at these Testimonials from the Secretary of Education,leading university professors, leaders of business and industry, and even the President. They love this program.”

            “But what do the teachers have to say?” mumbled Sally.

Yes, Sally, what do those men and women in the classroom trenches say about all of the educational theories that they encounter on their educational journeys, those top-notch teachers who want to Leave All Children Educated?  Recently, I have been extremely fortunate to join hundreds of my colleagues on various teacher web sites. This is what a few of them had to say about the various programs:

            “I embrace learning about new ways to engage my apathetic students, but I am so-o-o tired of these Best Theory Ever books we’re told to read. I think most of them were written by PhD candidates who haven’t set foot in a high school classroom since they graduated. Ivory Tower stuff; give me reality,” (Diane, Algebra/Trigonometry-PA).

            “Our principal is pushing for it (Flipped Classrooms) this year. He wants us to tape all of our lectures on our own time, assign the videos as homework, and then do the ‘homework’ in class. First, I don’t lecture. Second, our students don’t watch the videos we do assign (some of us have dabbled with it this past year). And third, who the heck has the time for it?? I know it sounds like a great theory, but it (learning) takes more work on the students’ part instead of putting it all on the teacher.” Tracy, English-Ill).

            “I hear ya’ sister!! I can’t imagine that my students would watch a video of me before coming to class…like you, I have a hard time getting them to complete a simple homework assignment! I also don’t lecture. I ‘flipped’ my classroom in the sense that I’ve flipped it over to the students. Last year I gave them more responsibility for their learning; I backed off with the nagging reminders, I didn’t collect/mark little assignments. I only assessed in-class assignments that demonstrated learning. Once the kids figured it out, it worked well,” (Addie, Science-British Columbia).

            “In my opinion, flipped classrooms is a utopian "theory" that's wonderful on paper but is totally unrealistic. For all the many years I've taught, I've seen these theories come and go. It's usually university professors or so called "experts" who dream them up without ever having been in a K-12 school. I say "Walk in my shoes for a day" and they wouldn't last half a day,” (Ruth, Elementary/Middle School-CT).

Between all of the research that I’ve studied, all of the educational blogs and on-line magazines, I’ve read and all of the discussion threads that I’ve followed, three facts are totally clear to me: teachers know what their students need to be successful learners because they are with them, following their progress or lack thereof, day after day (and what they need is more responsibility-not less); they know that their classrooms must be student-centered and teacher-guided, not teacher-centered, and they want programs created by (elementary, middle and high school) teachers, not by PhD candidates or those in educational corporations. Teachers are life-long learners. They are eager to listen to any ideas that will help their students succeed. They want input in the decision making if a school-wide program change is in the works, though, because they deal with the realities, not the theories, of teaching every single day. As Diane (PA) concluded, “Show me ideas by those who walk the same walk and talk the same talk that my colleagues and I do. Then I’ll listen.”

Hmm. Maybe the next time administrators are racing to catch the newest trending Bandwagon, the school board should make them spend a week in the teaching trenches before they let Glittering Generalities cloud their minds. Just a thought.

Until next week,

Connie
www.teachitwrite.com