The Whole is Greater than the Parts

The teacher I learned the most from was also the one I liked the least. It was Miss Burstein at P.S. 67. She was my social studies teacher who asked hard questions-for a seventh grader: “Why did…… What would have happened if….. Her homework was hard, her tests were harder, and my grades were dismal. For a while I hated history. When I became a teacher I began to understand why she made us think so hard. She was also funny, energetic, personable, and kept us engaged.

A recent article in The New York Times, “Grading Teachers, With Data From Class”, describes how one tech company  is collecting and reporting school data. A teacher explained how this data was useful in her practice but she was concerned about her below-average scores in earning student’s trust, building relationships, and helping them feel comfortable asking for help.

Teacher evaluation has reached a crescendo with multiple viewpoints from numerous constituents. I understand the importance of fair and balanced assessment. I embrace the idea of using data to inform decisions. At the same time, teaching is inherently an interpersonal process. It is about connecting with students, engaging them in sophisticated thinking, and most importantly, building trusting and caring relationships.

I am all for using data purposefully for the greater good. Yet in too much of our data analysis and teacher evaluation we are losing sight of the importance of relationships. The prevailing focus on test scores means that teachers are reading lessons from scripts, learning to use new textbooks and instructional strategies as they are teaching, and spending considerable time in front of screens analyzing student test data.

Valuable personal connections can be made only when teachers have time and circumstance to design lessons for their students, engage students in meaningful learning, and accentuate the student’s role in the process of learning. Teachers have the training, knowledge, and experience to do this. It makes me wonder why we are taking the responsibility out of their hands and putting it into the hands of tech companies, test designers, and textbook publishers.

We would better serve our students by using data from routine formative assessments. These embedded and purposeful strategies make learning visible on a daily basis. In this way teachers get to know their students strengths as well as their challenges. When teachers are nimble and responsive to students they are better able to build trusting relationships that are the foundation of deeper learning. Miss Burstein did this well.

Let’s agree to use the data thoughtfully and responsively but not to penalize teachers for complying with the requirements of standardized testing.  Let’s refocus the conversation to what is most important in education and how to achieve those aims:  It is not just about the data. And to dear Miss Burstein- I have learned to love history- thank you!

One looks back with appreciation to the brilliant teachers, but with gratitude to those who touched our human feelings. The curriculum is so much necessary raw material, but warmth is the vital element for the growing plant and for the soul of the child. ~ Carl Jung

  

 Larry Ferlazzo shares “best resources for building positive relationships” on his blog