Monday, August 13, 2007 6:22 AM
by
jtspencer
I am not a Robot
For the last two hours, I have been converting my format for lesson plans (which include the standard, the essential question, the objectives, a few inclusion pieces and a very structured outline) into the school-mandated, heavy-handed SIOP format. I'm not against teacher accountability, but it seems that true accountability should mean teachers give account for what they do. I have no problem with sending in lesson plans, offering an open door policy in my room or even creating a professional plan.
The problem is the lack of freedom within the profession. We are treated as automatons, mere trainable robots who will follow the prescribed standardized formats. In my school, we have to turn in SIOP lesson plans, fill out the blackboard configuration, give a standardized pre and post test twice a week. It's not that I dislike teaching. I simply want to teach without Big Brother watching over me.
The end result is never accountability. Lazy teachers will find ways around it - photocopying another teacher's lessons, failing to keep a lesson plan binder, stealing something online. Meanwhile, the teachers who work hard lose valuable time. I could have been grading papers, finding resources or creating specialized projects for students. Instead, I became an office clerk forced into the grinding system that wages war against my soul.
In my opinion, teaching is a sacred profession. It is a calling arising from deep within. True, there is a science to the craft, but it is not a standardized science of career managment. Instead, it is the science of inquiry and action, of exploration. Being a craft, it is also an art. As I slowly lose my autonomy, I lose a part of that creative spark called passion. I end up bored and angry - not the best ingredient for a "qualified teacher."
There are moments when I want to put on the war paint, jump on a horse and ride through the school yelling "Freedom," while I throwing the lesson plan binders in the garbage cans. I realize that I would lose my contract, though, so I find secret subversive ways of rebellion. For example, in the current lesson plans, I include "Analyze why SIOP lessons are a waste of time" in every list of objectives. Let's see if they even notice.