Bite the lemon!
Have you ever come across an article, reading or post that initially made you think, “Hmmm, interesting point,” but as you get further in it makes you say, “wait… what?”
I came across one just like that today. As I started skimming through it I was thinking the author had an interesting perspective on the pressures that teachers find themselves under. I had to read through it a couple of times to be sure I was getting what the author was intending for me to understand from his words.
He makes a really good point about every new thing that comes along in education that suddenly becomes an expectation, another layer of work added to your workload. The comparison he uses is lemonade - homemade lemonade is obviously better for you than the store bought version but it’s a hell of a lot more work. He critiques things such as student self monitoring, class discussions, inquiry based learning, and so on.
Just let me say, from the outset, that I’m not berating this guy or trying to demean his work in any way. In fact, I follow his blog because we’re serving in a similar space - doing what we can to empower teachers. And he’s doing a great job. I also recognise that his context is very different to mine. He’s in the US and describing the American situation where Common Core standards rule. What he’s describing is absolutely valid for his audience and situation. Full respect to him.
My take on it, however, is from the perspective of a teacher educator and coach in Aotearoa, which is why, in my blog, I use the term ‘kaiako’ in referring to teachers in our country. Our social and political culture is very different, as is our education system. All I’m saying is that his post made me think and respond. His perspective, I believe, doesn’t fit our context and I feel it’s important to say so since American based media and opinion is so dominant in the world wide conversation.
Kaiako are great at trying to take on all the up-to-date guidance that comes out of educational research, paring it down so it’s small enough to swallow, and then trying to add it to their already full programme. It doesn’t work, does it? You can only take on so much before the burnout and confusion sets in, followed by dissatisfaction and frustration. Kaiako are experts at reinventing the wheel, although for kaiako in the Māori medium sector there aren’t many wheels to choose from anyway so you’re always having to chisel out your own.
What made me stop and say, “huh?” as I read his article was his suggestion that much of the new stuff in education that we try to take on board is overkill. It may be better but is it worth it? Is it worth the extra stress? Are our efforts to make things better a poor use of our energy?
Students tracking their own progress? “It’s a hassle,” he said.
Class discussions? “They’re difficult to manage… they’re so difficult to do well, it might be better to avoid them altogether.”
Inquiry-based learning, he reminds us, is fraught with peril. (This is actually true but OMG the depth of learning that comes from enquiring into failed experiments!)
Feedback. “Providing timely individual feed-back is labor-intensive” (he’s American, so can’t spell proper English). Now, to his credit, he goes on to suggest some ways of making it less of a chore, and they’re not bad.
Rubrics. These are usually designed by teachers and (believe me, I know) are painstakingly stressful to create. Ākonga will mostly ignore them and all your hard work will be for nothing. True, I’m not gonna lie. He suggests single point rubrics which are a decent alternative. I approve.
What struck me the most about his article entitled Squeeze Fewer Lemons was the position that it presents: the teacher as the focus in the educational setting. Well, naturally. We’d expect an article about teacher issues to be presented from the teacher’s perspective, right? But consider this: who is one expected to actually learn?
It begs the question that you should seriously and personally consider: should kaiako be expected to adjust their practice to suit their ākonga? If you learn that there is a more effective way for ākonga to learn, but it will mean you’re going to have to make changes to your practice in order to reap the benefits, will you? Are you willing to move through a process of trial and error to figure out “what works” for your ākonga even if it is inconvenient for you?
So this is where I’m coming from, as a PLD facilitator with some years experience I know that the core of our work is to help kaiako develop teaching practices that optimise learning for their ākonga. We are constantly urging you to change something - the aromatawai/assessment that you use, the way you group ākonga, the way you give feedback, and on it goes.
Kaiako development is all about change.
“ Change can not happen unless you are willing for it to happen and willing for it to be uncomfortable. ”
Now, as a coach, change is my jam. What I know to be true is that changes in practice don’t just happen because Whaea Michele said so. Change - real, effective change - is the result of a shift in mindset, the way that you think about a situation. This has been my driver in creating Teachers Unlimited - helping kaiako level up. Change can not happen unless you are willing for it to happen and willing for it to be uncomfortable. That is the very nature of change. My intent is to do what I can to help kaiako embrace change from the inside out. We keep insisting that kaiako/teachers be up to date, incorporating new techniques and technologies, adopting new practices and adhering to new rules. We keep pressuring kaiako to change but we’re not supporting them to be ready for change.
The stresses described in the article I read can be described as resulting from trying to add upgrades to an out of date operating system. It. Will. Crash. My observation and experience in Aotearoa is that radical change to teaching practice is not only possible but is a proven process. We have kura in both the Māori medium sector and kura auraki (mainstream), primary and secondary levels, that are successfully flipping the script on the old factory format of schooling and doing amazing things for our mokopuna.
So my message to kaiako, triggered by an American educator’s blog post, is this: don’t discount the ongoing evolution of your teaching practice because it’s hard. It is hard. But our mokopuna deserve no less than kaiako who are willing to step up and be change makers, to let go of the reigns a bit in their classroom, to enrol ākonga in the learning journey, to model the utter joy of exploration (a fancy word for falling down and getting back up), willing to be wrong but curious. Teaching isn’t about control, it’s about the love of learning. Ko te ākonga te pūtake o te ako - the learner is the centre of learning.
That’s what I’m talkin’ ‘bout!
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