Teaching until they get it: learning for mastery is good teaching!

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The Education system in America is arguably the worst its ever been.  In a constant race for economic, military, and global super power, America, once on top, is losing its spot. Actually, its lost.  People constantly compare us to China.

China this, China that...super rail, better education, more disciplined children... well, maybe.


It has been in my first month as an administrator that I've began to question if the system, as it stands now, is working.  Remember my posting on foster children (CLICK HERE TO READ)?
Well this week, I've met several.  Horrible, horrible stories of abuse, both verbal and physical, neglect, and kids constantly feeling like they will be nothing more than garbage for the rest of their lives because they are reminded daily that they are foster children.

Then I meet teachers, who I'm not demonizing, who state that they don't care about what the background is of kids.  I hear like a broken record teachers say "if I teach it and they don't get it, that's their fault."  Wow... what jerks.

First, how effective are your teaching strategies oh great, wise teacher?  Do you diversify your teaching strategies at all or are you so stuck on teaching lower level information that students need to remember instead of analyze?

Look teachers, isn't the point of teaching to ensure mastery of the strand in of the content that you're teaching?  If you don't think so, change your paradigm about what teaching is all about. You are there to promote knowledge, love of learning.  What you shouldn't do is enforce the notion that once you're left behind, all you are is a failure.

How do you accomplish this you may ask?  Well, for one, if you're using assessments to drive your instruction (you know teach something, evaluate student's knowledge of it, and use the assessment to determine where you go next), then you don't have to worry.

Also, please note that in addition to diversifying how you teach, you should diversify how you assess student's learning.  I pray to God that every Friday is not test/pop quiz day.  What does that do?  Especially if students don't know how they scored or what they will be tested on for the test.

Think back to the classes you did the best in.  Was that transparency piece present?  By that I mean, did the teacher explicitly tell you what you were to learn, create understanding around why you were to learn that and tell you how you will be assessed?  I used to think those classes were the easiest.  I used to think, "wow, Mr. Smith TOLD us what's going to be on the test... what an idiot."  NO, what a genius.  There shouldn't be any surprises in Education.  If you're into that sort of thing, I'm sure you will continue to find your students doing quite poorly as a whole in your class.  But hey, its not your fault, is it?  Its theirs... hmmm!