Blog topic #7

How can we use our undivided self to reform education so that all are honored?

 We can use our undivided self to reform education by understanding that all students are different and therefore have different needs.  I think it is foolish to have a set of standards that all students have to be accountable toward.  Some students come from poor backgrounds or don't speak the language as their first language.  How can they possibly expect to compete with students who come from affluent backgrounds and have had every advantage in life?  There has to be some sort of accountability though because teaching is a profession that is very difficult to oversee and measure.  If there is no measuring stick it becomes difficult to get rid of bad teachers.  Firing bad teachers should be easier, but not so easy that a principal can indiscriminately get rid of teachers they don't like.  I think standards have been implemented to get rid of bad teachers and bad schools, so their hearts are in the right place, but I feel they are not the answer.  What is the answer?  I cannot say for sure because I have not been teaching that long.  What I can say is that in my own class if i teach the students in a way that includes everyone and recognizes that they have different backgrounds, abilities, motivations, and talents and do my best to make sure everyone succeeds.  "Success" is also a vague term.  For some students, a 'B' in a class would be a disappointment, and for others, a huge success.  You have to take the accomplishments of a students on a case by case basis.  That is the heart of good teaching.  Not universal standards.