In doing some research about the topic of fear while learning about raising student achievement, I came across these two quotes I wanted to share with you:
He has not learned the lesson of life who does not every day surmount a fear. ~Ralph Waldo Emerson
I have accepted fear as a part of life – specifically the fear of change…. I have gone ahead despite the pounding in the heart that says: turn back. ~Erica Jong
Why My Raising Student Achievement ideas could work
I want to preface this raising student achievement proposal with some background information. First, every idea I have stems from the last year of working on my master’s degree. My curriculum is designed using guest lectures and profession journals. These are only suggestions for raising student achievement; however, these techniques have been carried out with great success by our peers in education.
Many years ago I spoke with a friend about starting a business delivering food from restaurants at he did not offer delivery service, and he said it wouldn’t work and we couldn’t figure out the logistics and we didn’t have the money to begin. Anyway, some years later Takeout Taxi was born in Chicago’s Western suburbs.
A few years later, I was living in an apartment and faced with dishwashing and doing laundry. I contemplated designing a counter-top dishwasher and washing machine. I brought the idea up to a friend’s mom and she said I was crazy because no one would pay for something to put on their counter when they can do the work for free. I listened to her.
One day as I was strolling through a Home Depot years later, what did I see? A dishwasher designed to fit on your counter-top and wash a small amount of dishes. It was being marketed towards apartment dwellers.
I began writing a fictional novel in 2003 about the Chicago Cubs winning the World Series. I began my research and was going to include historical facts in my novel. I lost focus and stopped writing. Life got in the way. Last year, a former MLB player named Andy Van Slyke wrote a similar novel.
What is my point? My point is that while I may seem weird, I have decent ideas, but never the wherewithal to actually make them a reality. So, I bring my ideas up to you and make them public 1: to illicit help, and 2: to hold myself accountable.
The Raising Student Achievement Proposal
What I am about to propose for raising student achievement is not the solution, but an idea for us to get the ball rolling. These ideas are grounded in educational principles and research proves they can work. We have not made AYP for four consecutive years, and I believe the general consensus is that we will not make it again this year. So, what we have been doing has not worked, and while we need to do the studying and the research, we must implement something immediately and begin raising student achievement through change!
The Proposal: The Benefits
● This should not cost the district any extra money
● This should not require an overhaul of our current curriculum
● This should, in the long run, lessen the demands of our teachers’ workload
In 2002 Eileen Hughes wrote an article for the publication Childhood Development. The title of this article is Planning Meaningful Curriculum: a Mini Story of Children and Teachers Learning Together. In this article Hughes (2002) explains, “For both children and teachers, observation plays a critical role in the development of a meaningful curriculum. Careful study of children’s classroom behavior provides teachers with the information to plan connected learning experiences that build on children’s interests and allow for continued inquiry, thus sustaining children’s active engagement” (p. 134). My idea is to use the state standards and our curriculum to expose the students to what they need; however, I envision them demonstrating understanding and mastery of what they need using topics that interest them and are areas of study they feel connected to and passionate about.
Some fears we may have towards raising student achievement are that if I have twenty-nine students in my classroom, how will I possible assess students on twenty-nine different topics? The simple solution to this would be that we as educators become students, again, and we learn with the students. Hughes goes on to state in her article that, in essence, teachers become researchers with the students and teachers use that information to form questions, hypotheses, and create the next steps for the curriculum.
In our last faculty meeting, the special education department brought up the fact that they investigate with the students to find areas of interest that the student wants to study, and they help the student study something that interests the student. As regular education teachers, we are asked to sit in IEP meetings for special education students to help determine the student’s needs and achieve their outlined goals. In an effort to consider raising student achievement, why not take the IEP concept and the special education department’s tactics of teaching the student with materials he or she is interested in and create a customized learning plan for all students.
Using a term we have all heard and fear greatly, we must use differentiated instruction to reach and teach our students if we want to improve student achievement. Anderson (2007) states,
Most important to differentiated instruction are the elements of choice, flexibility, on-going assessment, and creativity resulting in differentiating the content being taught, or how students are processing and developing understanding of concepts and skills, or the ways in which students demonstrate what they have learned and their level of knowledge through varied products
If we collaborate with the students, in an effort at raising student achievement; and let them have a say in what they learn and how they learn it, we can make sure they get what they need based on the state standards, and deliver it in a manner that is based on their expectations. Keep in mind that this partnership must hold both teachers and students accountable and responsible. However, once a student feels he or she has control of what they are learning, the attitude shifts into a level of responsibility for the general outcome of the educational experience.
Another approach to raising student achievement levels is through the integration of curriculum. While this aspect may cost the district money, it is an important element to the on-going long term success at Taylorville High School. At this moment, I will not get into great detail about curriculum integration; I simply want to make you aware of the ideas for long-term success in regards to student achievement.
Personally, I sometimes feel that if I do not get my students to understand and master every single component on the Illinois Learning Standards for grad 9, I have failed horrendously. Thankfully, Hinde (2005) supports my thinking that the aforementioned goal is not really practical. Hinde (2005) states, “Obviously, it is not feasible to expect teachers to address all the mandated standards in the course of a school year” (p. 105) However, what Hinde advocates is an integration of the curriculum where teachers work together across the curriculum to help foster student achievement and success. Ridding ourselves of the autonomous mindset to work collaboratively with one goal in mind is the key to raising student achievement levels permanently at Taylorville High School.
Parker (2005) as cited in Hinde (2005) puts integrated curriculum into perspective and describes it as, a pooling of our resources to basically strengthen our individual disciplines. We would set about to draw in the differing perspectives and knowledge of our educators to create and help develop a better understanding of a person, topic, event, or idea. “The purpose is not to eliminate the individual disciplines but to use them in combination” (452-53). Raising student achievement should be our number one priority!
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