Interruptions to the Learning Environment

It is an incredibly difficult time to be a classroom teacher.

In the past two weeks, I have had an authentic classroom setting for just 2 out of 10 days. The number of external intrusions on the public school classroom has reached damaging and dangerous levels. It is now at the point where we physically see our students for only a fraction of the time that is promised to us. I ask you, how can we possibly educate our students if we do not see or spend time with them??

As a general accounting, in the past two weeks we have had the following interruptions to actual class time:

4 days of PARCC testing
2 days of SGO preparation and testing
1 evacuation drill
1 1/2 day schedule

In every one of these cases, the amount of actual class time has either been drastically reduced or cut altogether. The corporate "crusaders" in education love to cite the Instructional Core (IC) as a linchpin to effective education (you can find my thoughts on IC here: http://njcares4kids.blogspot.com/2015/04/the-student-as-learner.html). Briefly, the Instructional Core states that the three most important aspects of successful education are the student, teacher, and content. Anything extraneous to these three core elements does not have a strong impact on successful classroom learning, and should be minimized.

Consider ALL of the interruptions above which have led to an effective 80% reduction in actual classroom time. None of them pertains directly to the Instructional Core. They ALL fulfill some sort of state mandate or another, but not one of them in acknowledged or even expected to effectively increase student learning. Yet, not only do they persist in education, but year after year, the number and duration of interruptions only seems to grow.

They say they want higher test scores. They say they want a more educated public. They even say that they understand that in order to achieve these ends, teachers need to spend time with their students, supporting students as they grapple with rigorous content. Yet so much of what they DO flies in the face of these statements.

I have something that I want to say, too. If you actually do want higher test scores, a more educated public, and students who thrive and enjoy their education, then please kindly get out of our way, and allow us to do the job for which we trained, and at which we have practiced for years upon years. LET US TEACH!!