Where’s The Joy?

By Chelle Stockman

 

            Ah, I remember way back when—when school was fun and the teachers had joy.  They knew they had something wonderful to share with us and that for the most part we would get it.  How did they know this?  They knew how to give tests.  Those tests told them where our strengths and weaknesses were.  I seemed to get all the tough teachers, at least one in the bunch every year was a teacher most kids warned us about. “Watch out for Rathjens, she is strict and takes no bulldookie off of anyone.”  “Look out for Vincent, he works ya to death.”  “You don’t want to get Botta.  He yells so much that you will wet your pants.”

            I got them all and let me tell you, I’m so grateful I did.  They taught me so much!  Mr. Botta taught me that math can be fun and if I didn’t behave he would throw a ball at me and expect me to have the answers to the questions.  Well I was hep to him.  I liked having the answers so I’d disrupt my neighbor while he asked the question and I was prepared for the ball.  I’d catch it, yell the answer out and immediately sail it back to him.  Boy those were the days. 

It was Miss Rathjens that I most loved.  Yes the golfer lady was a toughy.  No one, I mean nobody could pull the wool over her eyes.  She knew her kids, all thirty-three of us.  When she handed us our tests back, we would all be shamed at the red marks on them.  She would tell us to not be upset.  In her hands she held a list of all who missed the questions.  She would say to one of us who had a red mark, say me for instance, “Chelle will you read question number one please?”  I’d read it and she would say, “could you tell me why you answered the way you did?”  I’d tell her my reasons and she was always encouraging but would point out where I had gone wrong.  She would then tell us the correct answer and where we could find it.  We would go to that page and lo and behold, the teacher actually knew what she was talking about!  Imagine that.  She would work hard to make sure we all were on the same page because you see, she didn’t believe in leaving anyone behind.  We made her proud and she had an obvious joy when she taught us.  I’m glad I had this tough lady and I wish there were more like her these days.

We had these reading assessment tests, you know the kind, those bubble tests.  Before she turned them in to be handed off to the districts or states she would make her notes to see where “her” kids were.  In the fifth grade she broke us up into reading groups.  Some were put into mythology, some into remedial reading, and some into speed reading.  She found it easier to work with groups in this case and because of it, I became a speed reader with a higher level of comprehension.  To this day, I have a great love for reading.  Thank you Miss Rathjens!

This was the norm in my day; larger class rooms, discipline, and teachers who evaluated the tests to determine where their students were.  We were their treasure and we knew it.  The teachers had a greater freedom in teaching methods than the teachers do today.  They had less restrictions placed upon them by the state which allowed them to personally oversee the aptitude of every student.  This method makes better sense to me because who would you say knows their students better, the teachers who have the kids day in and day out; or some estranged board of education? 

I have noticed over the past decade how little the teachers have in the way of support from their bosses.  Impossible expectations are placed on them because children come to them undisciplined, the state has a criterion for them to meet, and they have 40 minutes to an hour each day to focus their students and meet the state’s expectations.  Gone is the joy of teaching and the kids lose.  We give money to them and then take it away.  We place higher standards on the teachers and students and then don’t back them up.  Something has to change.  We can’t keep raising taxes and shoveling money into a broken system.

In the No Child Left Behind, the tests became more rigorous but what have they accomplished?  Nothing except to measure the level of failure.  Teachers feel a greater sense of ineptitude and so do the kids. The tests are given and the results come back several months later.  Do the kids get a chance to learn where they failed?  Do they learn where they went wrong from taking the tests?  Do they learn the correct answers?  No they don’t.  So the kids only get a sense of satisfaction if they already know the information but for the students who didn’t do so well, they have no way of knowing where they need to improve.  This kind of testing doesn’t make any sense.  We the taxpayers and voters have condoned this; therefore we have failed our teachers and students.  Where is the joy in that?

I’m all for the teachers being allowed to teach their students as individuals.  I’m against all testing that does not allow the kids to find out in every instance where they went wrong and instruct them where to get the correct information.  The kids will respect the teacher who can show them something that encourages them but I’m telling you that they will lose interest if they are constantly being bombarded with their failures.  I’m asking you folks, how can we help restore the joy in our children’s teachers?  Will you help me do this, please?  Our kids deserve it.  All the money and tests won’t improve education because it is only the teachers who can do this. 

If you have any ideas, you can email me at ChelleStockman@aol.com.  Thank you for your concern and your input.