Better teachers in poor schools-how?

[Anonymous]

Teachers who work in under preforming Title 1 schools are under a lot of pressure to have their students meet grade level expectations.....many factors of that are out of their control. Which is why they quickly burn out. One incentive that is currently offered - if a teacher works at a title 1 school for a certain number of years, they can have a portion of their loans paid off. Many teachers switch schools after that though.

[Anonymous]

The really sad part is that I taught Title I in the 1970's--and the challenges are still the same-maybe worse. The teachers care, but it is just so hard.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This rule is based on a false assumption: That it all depends on the teachers. I've taught in both--worked my tail off in the poor school. Worked hard in the average school. Guess which kids got better scores?

I agree with this. I feel like teachers are held responsible for factors that are totally out of their control.

So much of a kid's success depends on parental involvement and stability at home. We are expecting teachers to work miracles. It's not fair.

Yes, part of it is based on having good teachers, but not all. It does not all depend on the teacher.

You hit the nail on the head. I am an ESOL teacher in a focus school. I'm scheduled to have a meeting with administration today to discuss why our students who live in poverty who speak little to no academic English and have little academic support at home did not meet benchmark scores on September map r, map m and MClass testing.As though there's some magic teaching strategy I can pull out of my hat to negate poverty and few academic language skills.

My students are making progress and I am proud of them for that. They work hard. But let's stop pretending that ESOL students living in poverty are playing on the same field as native English speakers who are not living in poverty. Administrators and central office staff who put pressure on administrators really need to step out of their offices and be involved at the classroom level.

I am not saying that I am a better teacher than those who teach in higher SES schools. I can only say that I need to work a lot smarter and harder, but no matter how hard or smart I work it will never be enough. I'll still get called to meetings with administrators and made to feel like I'm not doing enough.

[Anonymous]

People assume the ESOL kids start in K here. That is not necessarily true. You get high school kids who are new to the school. Try getting them up to test standards.

[Anonymous]

I taught ESOL kids in DOD schools. They learned English quickly. Why? Because they were living and playing with kids who spoke English. I also had them in twosies and threesies--not in half the class.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:People assume the ESOL kids start in K here. That is not necessarily true. You get high school kids who are new to the school. Try getting them up to test standards.

Even if they do start in K here they are at a disadvantage if no academic language has been taught to them in their first language before they come to school. That can be the deciding factor for success.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wroteeople assume the ESOL kids start in K here. That is not necessarily true. You get high school kids who are new to the school. Try getting them up to test standards.


Even if they do start in K here they are at a disadvantage if no academic language has been taught to them in their first language before they come to school. That can be the deciding factor for success.

+1 If they have no previous schooling, and/or their parents don't, it's very difficult to teach them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:People assume the ESOL kids start in K here. That is not necessarily true. You get high school kids who are new to the school. Try getting them up to test standards.

Even if they do start in K here they are at a disadvantage if no academic language has been taught to them in their first language before they come to school. That can be the deciding factor for success.

There's no comparison, folks.

Ks can be sponges. Yes, they are at a disadvantage, but when surrounded early on in an academic environment rich in language, they will learn - and learn more quickly than the 17 yo who arrives illiterate in his/her own language.

and the 17 yo who has to work each day after school, leaving no time for HW or after school help

no comparison

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This rule is based on a false assumption: That it all depends on the teachers. I've taught in both--worked my tail off in the poor school. Worked hard in the average school. Guess which kids got better scores?

I agree with this. I feel like teachers are held responsible for factors that are totally out of their control.

So much of a kid's success depends on parental involvement and stability at home. We are expecting teachers to work miracles. It's not fair.

Yes, part of it is based on having good teachers, but not all. It does not all depend on the teacher.

You hit the nail on the head. I am an ESOL teacher in a focus school. I'm scheduled to have a meeting with administration today to discuss why our students who live in poverty who speak little to no academic English and have little academic support at home did not meet benchmark scores on September map r, map m and MClass testing.As though there's some magic teaching strategy I can pull out of my hat to negate poverty and few academic language skills.

My students are making progress and I am proud of them for that. They work hard. But let's stop pretending that ESOL students living in poverty are playing on the same field as native English speakers who are not living in poverty. Administrators and central office staff who put pressure on administrators really need to step out of their offices and be involved at the classroom level.

I am not saying that I am a better teacher than those who teach in higher SES schools. I can only say that I need to work a lot smarter and harder, but no matter how hard or smart I work it will never be enough. I'll still get called to meetings with administrators and made to feel like I'm not doing enough.

Sounds like a meeting we just had a few weeks ago. My fellow ESOL teachers were berated for basically the same thing. Our new admins love, love, love their data! They pick and choose the data they pay attention to. They don't say anything at all when we more than double the district average for the # of students we test out of ESOL each year. I am so over this school year and it's not even Thanksgiving.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This rule is based on a false assumption: That it all depends on the teachers. I've taught in both--worked my tail off in the poor school. Worked hard in the average school. Guess which kids got better scores?

I agree with this. I feel like teachers are held responsible for factors that are totally out of their control.

So much of a kid's success depends on parental involvement and stability at home. We are expecting teachers to work miracles. It's not fair.

Yes, part of it is based on having good teachers, but not all. It does not all depend on the teacher.

You hit the nail on the head. I am an ESOL teacher in a focus school. I'm scheduled to have a meeting with administration today to discuss why our students who live in poverty who speak little to no academic English and have little academic support at home did not meet benchmark scores on September map r, map m and MClass testing.As though there's some magic teaching strategy I can pull out of my hat to negate poverty and few academic language skills.

My students are making progress and I am proud of them for that. They work hard. But let's stop pretending that ESOL students living in poverty are playing on the same field as native English speakers who are not living in poverty. Administrators and central office staff who put pressure on administrators really need to step out of their offices and be involved at the classroom level.

I am not saying that I am a better teacher than those who teach in higher SES schools. I can only say that I need to work a lot smarter and harder, but no matter how hard or smart I work it will never be enough. I'll still get called to meetings with administrators and made to feel like I'm not doing enough.

Sounds like a meeting we just had a few weeks ago. My fellow ESOL teachers were berated for basically the same thing. Our new admins love, love, love their data! They pick and choose the data they pay attention to. They don't say anything at all when we more than double the district average for the # of students we test out of ESOL each year. I am so over this school year and it's not even Thanksgiving.

as am I

This is my last year in the profession. I'm moving on. Until EVERY person in the system - from administrators and counselors at the school level to central office employees - is anchored to at least ONE classroom, there will always be that lack of understanding and arrogant attitude.

Education is a train wreck.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I taught ESOL kids in DOD schools. They learned English quickly. Why? Because they were living and playing with kids who spoke English. I also had them in twosies and threesies--not in half the class.

Also, their parents weren't poor. They earned a decent salary, had enough food to eat daily, had adequate healthcare and some even had housing paid for. It's hard to compare these kids to poor kids being raised in the ghetto by who knows who.

[Anonymous]

Also, their parents weren't poor. They earned a decent salary, had enough food to eat daily, had adequate healthcare and some even had housing paid for. It's hard to compare these kids to poor kids being raised in the ghetto by who knows who.

Exactly--though when it got close to payday, the occasional kid would complain about the food at home. But, there was a payday. Dads were frequently gone for six to eight weeks at a time and some weren't good about sharing funds with mom.