Teachers as Agents for Social Change

Over the years classroom teachers in the United States have taken on a wide variety of jobs that they were not taught in their  teacher preparation programs. These may have included duties such as hall monitor, test administrator, playground supervisor, and even surrogate parent.  But we need to add yet another responsibility to that list. One that is not in a teacher’s job description nor is it a part of pedagogical training-  that of child advocate and agent of change. Among the current criticism of teachers and college training programs today, the role of teacher advocacy is rarely mentioned.

During my tenure as a teacher, counselor and advisor I have seen teachers donate money for students' families, buy presents for Christmas, donate their time  volunteering in community causes, start scholarship programs, and even take children into their homes. There have been cases of teachers going into family court to advocate for their students rights.

Teachers are often on the front lines of child advocacy. They may notice an illness or injury before parents and send the student to the nurse. They may be the first to identify a learning disability and advocate for a learning and psychological evaluation so that student may be in the optimum position to achieve success in the classroom. They notice if a student is hungry or upset. 

Teachers too have often found themselves in the political arena lobbying for education funding, a new school building or academic programs that will enhance students’ opportunities to succeed. Some teachers even seek public office themselves.

Most teachers are inherent leaders and organizers. Their role as advocate for the student is just a logical progression from these qualities. These qualities are not taught in the university classroom so anyone who wishes to be a successful teacher should come to school prepared to be a leader, a volunteer and a fighter.

Working with Grandparents

^{Rugters University in New Jersey has an Extension Division program that conducts workshops for grandparents raising and educating children. If that fact seems surprising to you then you should know that according to a study conducted by the US Census Bureau, there are approximately 2.8 million children who are currently under the care and supervision of their grandparents. In a few cases there are even great- grandparents raising children, two generations removed from their own.}

^{There are multiple causes for the societal breakdown and the blame cannot be easily placed on one group.} In some cases parents are deceased or are incarcerated. In other situations, the parents may have deserted or abandoned their children for financial or other reasons.  In other circumstances , parents are in the military and have been deployed to overseas locations for extended periods of time.

Whatever the reason, classroom teachers must be sensitive to the needs of students living under these conditions. They need to take the time and patience to explain to grandparents the essence of the curriculum and you expectations in the classroom. They are many grandparents out there who are not computer literate and thus find it difficult to help children with assignments that they cannot comprehend technologically. Teachers need to be sensitive and compassionate when dealing with grandparents and make every effort to be as accessible and resourceful as possible .As always you comments and suggestions are welcome.

c.2013 J. Margolis

Are We Raising a Nation of Quitters?

Today’s students are actively engaged in multitasking. They may have more homework that I past generations. There is also the pressure from both parents and peers to be a part of organized activities. It may be spots, dramatics, music or even debating, but today’s students are actively engaged in a wide range of time consuming activities.

What if a student suddenly comes to you and out of the blue proclaims that they want to quit baseball or marching band? Do we let them off the hook? The quick answer is no, at least not at first. It is the essential to investigate the WHY of their actions. Parents may be quick to resurrect the commitment and perseverance sermons but ultimately you need to investigate why children are reluctant to return to the activity. It might be prudent to talk to the coach, band director, or activity adviser to ascertain if there was any specific incident that led to the student wanting to quit. Some students only want to play for winners and give up when things don’t work out so well.  Allowing a student to walk away in this scenario sends the wrong message.  Not all things in life will go as planned. Parents, teachers, and coaches will not always be there to bail students out. Student must learn to work through their problems and not walk away from them.

This issue of commitments and perseverance is a great topic for classroom discussions and essay writing. You are encouraged to bring this topic up with your students. There are also other resources for you to refer to. They include:

Benjamin Bloom: Developing Talent in Young People
Carol Dweck: Mindset: The New Psychology of Success
Geoff Colvin: Talent Is Overrated: What Really Separate World-Class Performers From Everybody Else
Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, Kevin Rathunde, and Samuel Whalen: Talented Teenagers: The Roots of Success and Failure
Harold Stevenson: The Learning Gap: Why Our Schools Are Failing and What We Can Learn From Japanese and Chinese Education

We do not have to resign ourselves to raising a nation of quitters.

C.2013 J. Margolis

The Death of History Education

The teaching of history education in America’s public schools is an endangered species.  There is quite a bit of finger pointing to go around. One of the culprits is the high stakes testing programs that require teachers to spend a great deal of the preparing students for the tests, primarily in language arts and mathematics. That leaves history on the short end of the stick. Noted American historian David McCullough lamented the growth of historical illiteracy among school students and even college students. McCullough noted that students today do not know basic facts about American history. His assessment strongly corroborates the research that former Univ. of VA professor Hirsch discovered and wrote about in his book Cultural Literacy.

One of the oft cited complaints is that history is boring as students have been required to memorize a litany of dates and places with little or no understanding of their context within the framework of the American experience. According to McCullough as many as 80% of US colleges no longer require history courses. In the bigger picture, He agrees with a number of university officials that teachers should be required to obtain an academic degree in the subject they are going to teach rather than a degree in education. In other words content area trumps pedagogy in his view. He also believes that the traditional “lead weight” textbooks have become obsolete.

Students need to be taught history in more engaging ways. They need to realize that there is the history of art, of music, and of literature. Educators need to heed this caveat.  If we do not teach about America’s history through its unique place on the world stage, we are depriving our children of the legacy and heritage that is needed if we are to continue that concept, that idea known as America.