C4T #4

Mr. John Spencer writes a very interesting blog in the first post I was able to read he said " Remember Pencil Quests? It was somewhere in my sophomore year and the teacher was bubbling over with excitement. "We're going on a Pencil Quest!" he exlaimed. I raise my hand. "So, you will take us to various sites. Is it like a field trip?" "Yep," he says. "And each site will have a page that you will read. When you read the page, you'll answer questions." "Like a textbook?" I ask. "More like a moving textbook," he says, "with tons of pages. Imagine that!" "I thought it was a quest," a student says. "It is!" "And the conflict driving the quest is?" I ask. "Um . . . I don't know. Finishing it, I think. But it's an adventure." I nod my head, "Got it. Like a Scavenger Hunt. Do we solve riddles to find new places?" "Not exactly. You have a map." "So, I can choose my own route." "No, the route is determined ahead of time." The crazy part? We ran from site to site with exuberance. We were happy to be using our pencils, even if the pencil still wasn't all that social. We loved the notion of multiple pages. I look back now at the Pencil Quests and I'm a little embarrassed by it. Yet, those were the pioneers. Those were the ones doing something different. And here's the thing: my students are excited about our projects and our problem-based learning. They're excited about plogs and pen pal networks. It has me wondering what they'll look back at and consider to be quaint." I stated that I wished I had had a teacher who put together engaging assignments for us as students, too.

In His second post Mr. Johnson relates an instance when an "academy" salesman comes to his school. It goes something like,..."I would like you to consider the flipping your classroom," he says. "Pardon," my principal interjects, "I am not about to have someone flipping off our students." "No, it's not that at all. See, we have a whole system that you can use in a pencil-based classroom. Imagine this: each child learns discreet skills independently. Step-by-step they move through a sequential order designed for the mastery of each math skill. It is powerful. Indeed, it pretty much replaces the role of the teacher. As we think of a modern pedagogy and differentiated instruction, you need resources to reach every child, every time," he explains. If only I had my Buzzword Bingo card with me. I probably wouldn’t have a blackout, but definitely a five-in-a-row. Besides, what he's advocating is not even a truly flipped classroom. It's simply a stack of packets. "Wouldn't it make sense to have students use paper and pencil to write essays and solve equations instead? What if they did some of it independently and worked cooperatively together instead? What if they developed their own problems?" I argue. Missing the sarcasm, the slick suit snake oil salesman answers, “That sounds great. But aren't you tired of kids not working? This allows each child to work at his or her level independently." “If I didn't know how to teach I would use this product instead,” I answer. Missing the sarcasm, he says, “Exactly. The program is designed to fit the needs of teachers struggling to provide adequate intervention.” Intervention? Are we dealing with drug addicts here or with children who can't comprehend expository text? “I just don’t see the appeal of this. It’s a series of worksheets,” I explain. “Wrong! It’s an academy. It’s a whole system of learning. Kids get to pick their worksheets and the follow the instructions. Can you help every kid at every moment?” “Well, I can’t. But if I have given them the freedom . . .” “So, you can’t help each child in the moment? Is that correct?” he asks. “That's true, but . . .” “There you have it,” he points to the principal. And so, with that, the con artist and his con academy have prevailed over the voice of a teacher. I get it. This con academy is a free gift. However, so was the Trojan Horse."

I fell that Mr. Spencer has a point in that he needs to be wary of any system that has set boundaries as to how and when students learn certain principles and I defiantly agree that worksheets just for working sake is not a good way to teach. I responded as follows,I agree with some of my previous colleagues in their comments about this post that it is not so much the system but its implementation and use in the classroom that will make or break the students subjected to it. Although videos and worksheets may reinforce learning, they do not instigate it very often and that is the objective of the "flipped teacher". Though I am not yet a full time teacher, I hope that all teachers take the time to evaluate their use of all available resources to help their students to succeed. Remember always that your biggest question should be "Is this going to help the majority of my students?" If it becomes at any point more about you or proving you are right, your students lose and so do you."