Blog Post 10

        After reviewing my past blogs, I noticed a very distinct pattern and stance that I tried to take in each. For every blog, I would look at how the topic influenced the teachers, and in turn, how that impacted the students. I hold the student-teacher relationship at the top of my priority list as a future teacher. While I believe that some schools have very good qualities to them, if the relationships in the classroom are not developed and based on respect, the classroom will not be reaching its full potential. I also make a point to look at the relationships between teachers and the administration of a school. The best school will always have good communication between the "authority" of the building and the "authority" of the classroom. If the school has good communication all around, I do not see any way in which it can fail. There needs to be respect and a level of security to be yourself for every individual in a school.
        Another point that I always seemed to stress was the idea of looking at the students as individuals, not test scores. After reading my thoughts on the tests and the ways that children are viewed, I realized that my opinions on the matter are quite radical. If I could, I would look to change the structure of education as a whole. In class, we had a discussion about how technology is influencing the process of educating students. One specific question or statement made involved students being evaluated in a way that made them like an "avatar" on a website. This image stuck out to me and I reflected on what that means and how I feel about it. I fear that this outlook on students is not only a possibility, but the future of the path that education is currently on. The students are simply components and "avatars" on the statistics of each schools, each district, each state, and the country. The broad view of education, with comparisons from country to country on the various academic levels, and from school to school to determine which is having higher achievements, is deteriorating the success of students universally. Rather than being Kaitlin Morrissey who likes math and prefers more hand-on work and visual examples, I am an ACT or SAT score or an application or a ranking among the country in critical reading. Education has evolved into a brutal and competitive format that abandons children who do not fit the general ideas of success. Those children in the fifth grade that read at "third grade level" must be immediately rescued so that they do not become a blemish for the school. Students are ultimately being denied their right to be evaluated on what they are good at or, on the other hand, being seen for more than just their lowest scores.
        I realize that I accidentally got carried away with the topic and that I may appear to be overly dramatic toward the system that is currently in place. I just can't help but think about the students that, from the start, are determined to have less of a chance to succeed. To illustrate where my opinion stems from, near the start of the semester, we read John Gatto's "The Green Monongahela." In it, he tells a story about a student named Milagros. She was in a low-ranking reading class, and yet was able to read at the sixth-grade level. The administration claimed that she inflates her actual abilities and is placed where she belongs. In the end, Gatto fights for her to be put into a better reading class and is successful, much to the appreciation of Milagros. She ends up becoming a teacher and winning an Occupational Teacher Award. While this story ends in success for the student, I look at the other side of things. What about the students that don't have Gatto to see the true capabilities they possess? Maybe they, too, could later on become distinguished members of their future occupations. Sadly, what if they are denied the chance and become trapped in classes that limit their skills? I worry that there are students that want to expand and grow with learning, but due to their low test scores or their lack of focus in class, are not being allowed to progress.
        To complete the unveiling of my true feelings on education, I will state my goals as a teacher. I have said this before in my blogs, but I want to make sure that I am always seeing my students as individuals in the classroom. I refuse to become blinded by what test scores they have and to put a label on the value of a student in a classroom. I will always work with students on both their strengths and weaknesses in order to help them to work on what they need help with and to expand what they already know. I will allow my students to achieve and to think using their own ideas and experiences rather than showing them the answers or using the banking method of teaching. I hope that I will teach at a school that sees the potential of each student and does not just see the test scores that they produce. Overall, I want each and every student that walks into my class to have an equal opportunity to achieve everything that they can and for them to see that they all have so many amazing and unique ideas that the world needs!