My Life as a Performing Artist

[telescopes]

School teachers are often maligned and often for very good reasons. After 36 years in the education industry, I am hanging up the proverbial chalk holder. I've worked as a teacher, principal, teaching coach, professor, and finished off as a teacher, but through it all, I've had one real piece of advice for any aspiring teacher: teach for the applause.

i still remember the first lesson I taught to a group of 10 year olds and received a standing ovation at the end of the lesson. It was on the use of commas in making a noun a possessive. I was shocked that they responded that way and then the thought hit me, why shouldn't they expect a lesson so good each day that the natural inclination is to stand up, applaud, and whoop and holler with delight. So I started to change how I taught. It was my stage afterall, and I was in a sense, a performer. I changed not only how I taught, but I changed my own expectations of my audience. If I could keep them entertained and provide them with something they valued, the students would pay attention, feel valued themselves, and applaud.

it doesn't happen every day, but I did see a change in my students. During the last five years of being a classroom teacher before I began working as a teaching coach for new teachers, I had the highest rate of perfect test scores on standardized tests in possibly the entire county. All from students in the lowest income bracket and all of whom came from homes where English was not the primary language.

I don't write this to brag. As I learned long ago, public schools don't value teachers with a high batting average; they care more about perception and whether the teacher supports the administration and the idiocy of the school's curriculum. I write this in the hopes that if there are any new teachers reading this, know that if you expect more, ask for more, and teach like every lesson is in a theater or a comedy club, you will get more.

 

[Trainpipeman]

What a loss your retirement will be for future generations. I do hope that you may have inspired someone else to follow your example!

 

[telescopes]

What a loss your retirement will be for future generations. I do hope that you may have inspired someone else to follow your example!

Thank you for your kind words. I keep a Facebook account for my past students to update me on their comings and goings. They remember the lessons we experienced, and I know they believe they made a difference for them. As for new teachers, the jury will be out. The pressures they feel to conform to mediocrity are enormous. Nationally renowned teachers such as Jamie Escalante and those like him find that the system punishes them rather then rewards them for innovation. It truly is a backward thinking industry. The other concern I have is that the colleges are producing more and more lower performing teachers who graduate with less content knowledge and academic self-discipline. You can't "love" someone to greatness. There has to be real meat on the bone of their accomplishments if they are to succeed.

 

[hoosierpipeguy]

Thanks for your time teaching our youth. Teachers should grasp the concept of "joy of learning". Who doesn't want to have fun? If learning can be done in a way that is fun, instead of drudgery, people/children will learn better and more. Hope you enjoy your retirement.

 

[danimalia]

I have an awful lot of respect for teachers. One thing I noticed from my favorite teachers was that they tended to have some enthusiasm for what they were teaching. Or they faked it well enough. Obviously, not everyone is going to be enthusiastic about their jobs every single day, and it is unfair to ask that of teachers, but a bit of energy and sincere interest in the subject goes a long way towards creating a good environment for learning.

 

[mso489]

I was a faculty spouse for more than 20 years, and my late wife was an English professor who had started out college on a theater scholarship, so I know where you are coming from. Likewise, my younger sister by eight years is a full-time teacher at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and Loyola in Chicago, as well as a former gallery reviewer for the Sun Times and a published novelist and non-fiction writer. So yes, knowing the subject is only a third or half the profession. After that, the students have to pay attention, invest some emotion and ego, and join the subject through the teacher. Every good teacher is a performance artist too. I learned from being married to a teacher that my aspirations for teaching were not supported by my introversion, but I was happy to support her career. It takes people as much as several years to know and trust me, and those people know a different person than daily random contacts. I've had some fabulous teachers ... in high school biology, college biology (such that I could comfortably write biomedical science for the public without ever having majored in it), plus a number of stellar teachers and mentors in other subjects including geology (also not my field), various written forms, history, and social studies. I even had a plain geometry teacher who was verbal enough to make me do well in that math. Even gifted teachers couldn't get me proficient in conversational French, though I could read a novel in French in a day or two, once I'd gotten with the vocabulary. Hail to our teachers, and much appreciation.

 

[telescopes]

I have an awful lot of respect for teachers. One thing I noticed from my favorite teachers was that they tended to have some enthusiasm for what they were teaching. Or they faked it well enough. Obviously, not everyone is going to be enthusiastic about their jobs every single day, and it is unfair to ask that of teachers, but a bit of energy and sincere interest in the subject goes a long way towards creating a good environment for learning.

It has been estimated in educational research that if we removed the bottom 10% of teachers and replaced them with medium level teachers, our nation's scholastic achievement would change dramatically for the better. There was a time when I had full access to teacher test data. A friend of mine who read data well assisted me as we developed an algorithm that looked at who a students first and second grade teachers were. Based on that prediction, we were able to accurately, within an 80% causation rate, predict student standardized test scores for third grade. It showed that a student could recover from one bad year of instruction, but two back to back years made the recovery almost impossible. The students failure to achieve well followed them to fourth and sometimes fifth grade. I am not suggesting that teacher evaluations be driven by test scores, but an administrator who is doing their job should be able to work to either improve or replace failing teachers.

 

[telescopes]

For what its worth, I spend four years as a teacher coach for new teachers. As a part of my responsibilities, I also worked with teachers who were identified to be let go. Out of a teacher pool of 1200 plus teachers, only 4 were so identified each year. Of those identified, 75% percent were teachers who were 59 or older. There were plenty of younger teachers who should have been so identified, but targeting people based on age is a real bias that no one pays attention too. Our remediation efforts were such that almost all teachers target for dismissal either improved or left the industry realizing that it was the wrong place for them. Most of them had declined due to health issues or health issues in their families - something common in people at that age bracket.

 

[Skatutakee]

It sounds like you have had a productive and inspiring career. I'm coming up on the thirty-year mark of teaching at a small college, and my dad was a high-school teacher, so this subject is close to my heart. Congratulations, stranger, on a well-earned retirement, and thank you for everything you've done in the cause of education.

 

[Trainpipeman]

Is part of what is happening today traceable to standardized testing, and the drive to conform, rather than nurturing creativity?

 

[cosmicfolklore]

We should make teachers all smoke pipes again. And, if they don't... we'll force them.

 

[telescopes]

Is part of what is happening today traceable to standardized testing, and the drive to conform, rather than nurturing creativity?

Yes... and no. Standardized testing focused on reading and math. Science, history, music, art, home economics, P.E., shop, and anything not directly supporting testing got pushed aside. The curriculum in reading and math became a mile wide and an inch deep. The questions on the test required the understanding of what was akin to a deepwater depth charge. Children with I.Q.s of 115 plus survived. Everyone else sank. Because the test scores suggested a massive failure in instruction and learning, anything relating to responsibility for actions was swept away... this included holding principals accountable, retention, or closing failing schools. Choice and free market options were out of the question due to political reasons. It is almost akin to suggesting that the manufacturers of the Titanic double down on that type of ship design in an age where air travel reigns supreme.

But actually, there is only so much you can academically pack into the brain of someone with an average "scholastic" intelligence. College isn't the best choice for most and at the same time, other meaningful choices have been obliterated, such as high school vocational programs, tech colleges, and simple programs designed to teach people how to manage a checkbook, bank statement, and make a pie crust, let alone fix a toilet or change out a light fixture. With less emphasis on P.E. and nutrition, students (some 5th graders) are approaching 300 plus pounds. No one learns well when they are that obese. They are walking inflammation.

Accountability... gone. Critical reasoning and thinking... gone. But my very last lesson I will teach to my 5th graders (read 10 year olds) this year is a 5 day unit. It opens as follows...

"Good morning. My name is ...... My personal pronouns are he and him. We are going to begin a wonderful journey this week where you will learn that your sexual identity is different than the gender identity. At the end of the week, we hope that you will be comfortable enough to discover your own personal pronouns and be ready to share them in our celebration on Friday."

You think I made that up?

Guess again!

So... yeh, I'm retiring.

 

[Skatutakee]

I don't know if this makes sense on your end, telescopes, but I think the worst change I've seen in my incoming students over the decades (yikes) is that they have become extremely risk-averse. So terrified of being wrong that they are unwilling or unable to take the kind of risks that are necessary for the learning process.

 

[Derby]

Telescopes, thank you for your service. There is no more important job in a civilization then that of a teacher.

 

[Fiddlepiper]

Even though in comparison my 15 year teaching (instrumental music rather than classroom) career pales into insignificance. I very much identify with a lot you have said.

Pupils need inspiration. Because I get the absolute luxury of a lot of one to one tuition this means I am many teachers in one day.

Congrats on your retirement. You absolutely deserve it.

 

[bullet08]

Good teachers were ones we can relate to. I remember number of my teachers from junior high. Thank you for your dedication.

 

[Trainpipeman]

Yes... and no. Standardized testing focused on reading and math. Science, history, music, art, home economics, P.E., shop, and anything not directly supporting testing got pushed aside. The curriculum in reading and math became a mile wide and an inch deep. The questions on the test required the understanding of what was akin to a deepwater depth charge. Children with I.Q.s of 115 plus survived. Everyone else sank. Because the test scores suggested a massive failure in instruction and learning, anything relating to responsibility for actions was swept away... this included holding principals accountable, retention, or closing failing schools. Choice and free market options were out of the question due to political reasons. It is almost akin to suggesting that the manufacturers of the Titanic double down on that type of ship design in an age where air travel reigns supreme.

But actually, there is only so much you can academically pack into the brain of someone with an average "scholastic" intelligence. College isn't the best choice for most and at the same time, other meaningful choices have been obliterated, such as high school vocational programs, tech colleges, and simple programs designed to teach people how to manage a checkbook, bank statement, and make a pie crust, let alone fix a toilet or change out a light fixture. With less emphasis on P.E. and nutrition, students (some 5th graders) are approaching 300 plus pounds. No one learns well when they are that obese. They are walking inflammation.

Accountability... gone. Critical reasoning and thinking... gone. But my very last lesson I will teach to my 5th graders (read 10 year olds) this year is a 5 day unit. It opens as follows...

"Good morning. My name is ...... My personal pronouns are he and him. We are going to begin a wonderful journey this week where you will learn that your sexual identity is different than the gender identity. At the end of the week, we hope that you will be comfortable enough to discover your own personal pronouns and be ready to share them in our celebration on Friday."

You think I made that up?

Guess again!

So... yeh, I'm retiring.

Thank you, kind sir, for your explaination.

We are truly seeing a break-down of basic skills that should be part of the basic education. How many cashiers get confused when something costs $0.99, and are given $1.04? I once was told by a cashier that her manager would not allow that, amd gave back my $0.04. How many times are we talking to a customer-service representitive who cannot ennunciate words?

Oh, but electronics will take care of all of these things.

I understand why you are leaving.

 

[Trainpipeman]

I don't know if this makes sense on your end, telescopes, but I think the worst change I've seen in my incoming students over the decades (yikes) is that they have become extremely risk-averse. So terrified of being wrong that they are unwilling or unable to take the kind of risks that are necessary for the learning process.

Oh yes, we might be traumatized.

 

[Richmond B. Funkenhouser]

I went to college to become a teacher.. That never materialized, as life tossed its banana peels and monkey wrenches... but it was the only thing I ever felt would be a rewarding career.. and not just a job.

 

[Trainpipeman]

Yes... and no. Standardized testing focused on reading and math. Science, history, music, art, home economics, P.E., shop, and anything not directly supporting testing got pushed aside. The curriculum in reading and math became a mile wide and an inch deep. The questions on the test required the understanding of what was akin to a deepwater depth charge. Children with I.Q.s of 115 plus survived. Everyone else sank. Because the test scores suggested a massive failure in instruction and learning, anything relating to responsibility for actions was swept away... this included holding principals accountable, retention, or closing failing schools. Choice and free market options were out of the question due to political reasons. It is almost akin to suggesting that the manufacturers of the Titanic double down on that type of ship design in an age where air travel reigns supreme.

But actually, there is only so much you can academically pack into the brain of someone with an average "scholastic" intelligence. College isn't the best choice for most and at the same time, other meaningful choices have been obliterated, such as high school vocational programs, tech colleges, and simple programs designed to teach people how to manage a checkbook, bank statement, and make a pie crust, let alone fix a toilet or change out a light fixture. With less emphasis on P.E. and nutrition, students (some 5th graders) are approaching 300 plus pounds. No one learns well when they are that obese. They are walking inflammation.

Accountability... gone. Critical reasoning and thinking... gone. But my very last lesson I will teach to my 5th graders (read 10 year olds) this year is a 5 day unit. It opens as follows...

"Good morning. My name is ...... My personal pronouns are he and him. We are going to begin a wonderful journey this week where you will learn that your sexual identity is different than the gender identity. At the end of the week, we hope that you will be comfortable enough to discover your own personal pronouns and be ready to share them in our celebration on Friday."

You think I made that up?

Guess again!

So... yeh, I'm retiring.t

Is it safe to assume that there has been a loss in the critical-thinking and reasoning skills compared to when you first started teaching?