I know that chapter 8 is about systematic issues, but it made me think more about the issues my students are going to face when they move on to high school. This year was rough for our school. we were sent into a temporary facility because our loan had not gone through and our new building was not ready. We have little to No technology for our teachers and even less for our students. These kids have been dis-serviced. I believe in our school, i believe in our charter, but we just plain had a bad year! These kids will be blown away by their peers coming in from other schools. It is not fair to them.
They do not know what an electronic portfolio is. They havent been exposed to a computer lab this academic year. As the book was talking about authentic assessments, I could only imagine our students reactions to these foreign words and concepts.
We as a staff are deeply saddened by our current condition and have gone to the board in an attempt to be heard. We demanded to be moved into a better location to start our year off right next year. We demanded technology in our classrooms. We demanded the best for our students. We cant even think about systematic issues with no system to run on. Sorry for venting, it was a rough meeting last night. Our charter is up for renewal and the district is on our backs. It is a scary place to be in an economy like ours.
I agree that the economy is a huge problem. People seem to be turning on their neighbors. Frightening, and frustrating to live in a place that is starting to give up on its own future.
ReplyDeleteAnd that's how I feel. Sorry for venting right back on you but if we're not even bothering to educate the next generation how much confidence do we really have in the future.
I'm tired of the layoffs, I'm tired of the students realizing that the community doesn't believe they deserve an education.
Been a rough week here too.
I totally feel for you. It always gets around to being about money, no matter what anyone says. Teachers are perennially good at making something out of nothing but, with the advent of technology, it is not so easy to do if you don't have the basics. We can't just yard sale a laptop. (Well, you can-- but we know how that will end up!). Education and doing it right is expensive.
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