Next time, Part 2 - Teachers
Another View likes to raise issues not on the front page. This time, the topic is not on any page, as I discovered in over 20 articles about students’ well-being and teachers’ working conditions.
If a topic is not raised, if we consider the issue a non-starter (I see teachers shrug, defeated, sensing that nothing can be done about it), we cannot hope to make much-needed change. I wrote a four-part series on class size and the teacher workload (Dec. 2021-March 2022). I now look at articles published since then that speak of everything but. I don’t understand this. Class size and teacher workload cannot be “off the table” if we understand the fundamentals of what a good school looks like; if we believe it must be a place where students are known well; if we understand this is an essential consideration in order to make a teacher’s job doable, one they can commit to doing for many years.
I expected to focus on teachers who have 170 students enrolled in their classes; Aurora and Denver high school teachers tell me this is not uncommon. You remind me to “put students first.” Thanks. I now start with the impact on our children and teenagers when classes are too large, when teachers do not have the time to know them well. Please look at the Addendum: quotes from these 10 articles. Part 2 on the teaching profession will follow. Ask too much and what do we get: trouble with recruitment and retention. Disgruntled 26-year-olds who give it their best for four or five years, but who just cannot sustain it.
- Connections. Relationships. Somebody knows me.
“What’s the Best Thing Happening in Schools Right Now? We Asked Top Teachers” (March 2023)
Good teachers know how much personal relationships are at the heart of the work. Listen to five finalists for the 2023 National Teacher of the Year speak of these connections.
Isn’t this what we want from all teachers? But can they achieve this goal, can they meet this high expectation, if we ask them to teach 170 students, to have five classes of 34 students? In most cases, I do not believe it is possible.
“You Don’t Need to Be the Hollywood Version of a Teacher. Here’s What Motivates Students” (Feb. 2023)
Little wonder Alex Kajitani was named the California Teacher of Year in 2009. He is a teacher who knows his students well and who makes sure they know he cares about them. Doable—when class size and teacher workloads are reasonable. But who can be this kind of teacher with 170 students?
“9,000 children don’t show up in Colorado school data. Are
they missing or in private school?” (Feb. 2023)
John Liljengren, Colorado Department of Education, Director of Dropout Prevention & Student Reengagement: “‘We definitely are seeing higher levels of disengagement across various measures, from attendance to dropouts. What we’re trying to do is dig in and find out why and can we see some of those kids come back?”
We are asking WHY. Good. But we must put class size/teacher workload on our list of possible causes. “No teacher in this building really knows me,” a 16-year-old might say. “Class time is not engaging - so much time is spent keeping everyone on task. I’m not even sure my teachers know I am in the room. Besides, how can my voice matter anyway in a room of 34? Can you see why I might stop coming at all?”
“Leslie Colwell of the Colorado Children’s Campaign said she worries that more families may be opting out … ‘We want kids to be connected to high-quality learning opportunities,’ she said.”
But who calls it a “high quality
learning opportunity” when we put students in a room where they are one of 34?
When we make it so difficult for teachers to develop strong relationships with
all their 170 students? Perhaps there is some logic in the declining enrollment
in our schools. Students in some of these huge high schools were never
“connected” in the first place. Dropping out just made it official.
POST-COVID-RELATED ARTICLES on students’ well-being
“Teen Brains Aged Prematurely During the Pandemic. Schools
Should Take Note” (Dec. 2022)
“‘…to be sure [we’re] trying to
support teens who are showing signs of emotional distress…’
“New Research Shows How Bad the Pandemic Has Been for
Student Mental Health” (Jan. 2022)
“… this is a critical time for schools to rethink how they are
addressing barriers to learning and teaching and improve their approach to
reengaging disconnected students and their families.”
“Want to Value Every Student? Stop Pretending Schools Don’t
Pick Winners and Losers” (July 2022)
“Students are
bravely confronting the mental health challenges they face…”
“New Evidence Shows Pandemic’s Impact on Mental Health” (Feb. 2023)
“The findings underscore that teens’ mental health is declining and that schools, parents, and the community need to provide resources to support teens.”
Note how all four articles touch on everything but class size and a teacher’s workload. How much are we “rethinking”? We create many amazing and impressive programs, such as Cherry Creek’s mental health centers (see below), to “support teens.” But we ignore a basic flaw: we do not “support teens” when we put them in classes of 34 and ask teachers to know 170 students.
How can we be surprised when we find many kids need more support? Teachers are not therapists; they cannot meet the needs of students going through serious struggles. But we can at least start by creating an environment and structure where teachers DO know their students well.
“School Foundations
Shift Their Focus to Students’ Mental Health as Need Grows” (Jan. 2023)
“After a Rash of
Student Suicides, This School District Stepped Up” (features Cherry Creek School District)
“Federal Pandemic-Relief Funds Drive Down Student-to-Counselor Ratio—Ever
So Slightly” (Jan. 2023)
We go to great lengths, and I respect such efforts, to address our students’ mental health needs. But even here (and I know you might well accuse me of overreach), I suggest the way we “design” too many of our schools—far too many students in a class, far too many students for a teacher to know well and care for—must be seen as factors. We create these structures. But who thinks this is how we design a good school?
NEXT ISSUE - Part 2-Teachers
1. Working conditions – time and teachers’ well-being
2. It is more than pay
3. Support from districts, administrators
Addendum
1. Connections. Relationships. Somebody
knows me.
“What’s the Best
Thing Happening in Schools Right Now? We Asked Top Teachers”
By Elizabeth Heubeck — March 2, 2023
Carolyn Kielma, science
teacher at Bristol Eastern High School in Bristol, Conn.
“Kielma said she has always made an effort
to create a personal connection with her students before attempting to
teach them science content. What’s exciting to her is that, right now, the
entire profession seems to be recognizing the importance of this strategy of
connecting with students.
“‘I think that’s what’s really exciting
about what’s come out of the pandemic: How to connect with all students,
how to make all students feel like they have a voice in the classroom,’
Kielma said.
“‘When we were shut down, there was a lot of learning that was difficult to accomplish because I couldn’t make those connections with my students, and I couldn’t do the humor and couldn’t have those personal relationships that are so important in order to get the learning done,’ she said.”
Jermar Rountree, health
and physical education teacher at Washington, D.C.’s Center City Public Charter
School, Brightwood Campus. Asked what he sees as the
best thing happening in K–12 education right now, Rountree said:
“The collaboration piece. We [teachers] are
continuing to put our heads together to create a common goal for our voices to
be heard, for teachers to be seen.”
Seeing the positive effect that being heard
and seen is having on teachers, Rountree aims to create similar opportunities
for his students.
“I listen to my students. I care deeply about not only what’s happening in our school community, but also in our students’ lives,” Rountree said. “I want to make sure they understand that I am here for them, I am listening to them.” https://www.edweek.org/teaching-learning/whats-the-best-thing-happening-in-schools-right-now-we-asked-top-teachers/2023/03
“You Don’t Need to Be
the Hollywood Version of a Teacher. Here’s What Motivates Students”
By Arianna Prothero — Feb. 21, 2023
“… in reality, the teachers who
students really love, the teachers who students really connect with, are
the ones who are just confident in being themselves and really just own who it
is that they are. And they’re genuinely interested in the students
themselves.
“They don’t need to be the Hollywood movie version of a teacher.”
What are the secret ingredients for
teachers to spark student motivation?
“… the other ingredient that is
really critical is just really being able to connect with students. You
have to know if your students are into baseball or Minecraft or art or cooking
or things like that….
“But then we fall really short a lot of times because it’s not enough to
just know what your students are interested in. You have to take that and you
have to bring it up from time to time.
“So to know that Sophia is really into cooking is great. But then when
you’re talking about fractions and you say, “Hey, today, we’re going to talk
about fractions. Sophia, I know that you’re really into cooking and fractions
are a really important part of cooking so that you can get all of your recipes
right. You are going to love today’s lesson.”
“A lot of times, quite honestly, real engagement in the classroom happens in a short little sentence, in small quiet interactions in the back of the classroom or at a student’s desk. Real engagement happens when you’re walking by a student in the hallway and you ask them how their music recital went last night.” https://www.edweek.org/teaching-learning/you-dont-need-to-be-the-hollywood-version-of-a-teacher-heres-what-motivates-students/2023/02
By Erica Meltzer, Feb. 10, 2023
“Chronic
absenteeism is up too, said Johann Liljengren, the state education department’s
director of dropout prevention and student re-engagement.
“Polling
data that the conservative education group Ready Colorado expects to release
this month shows a big increase in parents concerned that schools are on the
wrong track. That aligns with a
Magellan Strategies poll from last spring — though the reasons for
dissatisfaction were diverse.
“Leslie Colwell [Vice
President of Youth Success Initiatives at the Colorado Children’s Campaign], said
she worries that more families may be opting out — even though the vast
majority of Colorado families continue to enroll in public school.
“‘We want kids to be connected to high-quality learning opportunities,’ she said. ‘For families to make the choice that they’ll disengage entirely, to see an increasing number of families making that choice in the wake of the pandemic and the political environment, is concerning.’” https://co.chalkbeat.org/2023/2/10/23594785/colorado-missing-kids-enrollment-covid-kindergarten-dropouts-ap-analysis
**
POST-COVID-RELATED
ARTICLES on students’ well-being
EDUCATION
WEEK – STUDENT
WELL-BEING – WHAT THE RESEARCH SAYS
“Teen Brains Aged Prematurely During the Pandemic. Schools
Should Take Note”
By Sarah D. Sparks — Dec. 2, 2022
Ian Gottlib, director of the Neurodevelopment, Affect, and Psychology Lab at Stanford University:
“I would want [school staff] to pay
attention to the mental health data and be sure that they’re trying to
support teens who are showing signs of emotional distress in any way that
they can.’”
“In one recent survey, adolescents overwhelmingly report anxiety, depression, and stress have become their biggest barriers to learning.” https://www.edweek.org/leadership/teen-brains-aged-prematurely-during-the-pandemic-schools-should-take-note/2022/12
“New Research Shows How Bad the Pandemic Has Been for
Student Mental Health”
By Sarah D. Sparks — Jan. 18, 2022
“Many schools structure their academic, social-emotional, and mental health supports using processes such as multi-tiered systems of support or Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports, but Adelman said the approaches tend to be too limited to deal with the complex and widespread mental health problems schools have faced during the pandemic.
“‘Given the relatively small pool of resources available to so many schools and the range of students in need,’ he said, ‘this is a critical time for schools to rethink how they are addressing barriers to learning and teaching and improve their approach to reengaging disconnected students and their families.’” https://www.edweek.org/leadership/new-research-shows-how-bad-the-pandemic-has-been-for-student-mental-health/2022/01
“Want to Value Every Student? Stop Pretending Schools Don’t Pick Winners and Losers,”
By Jeff Frank — July 21, 2022
“…schools can do
more to help students listen to their unique calling and feel confident in it.
We should reaffirm our belief in the inherent worth and dignity of the
individual, each of whom is called to a unique purpose. …
“Schools must set aside more time for mentoring and give students opportunities to reflect on purpose beyond the obvious ways of standing out….”
COMMENT: Mentoring (and advising) is possible when class size and workloads are not overwhelming. I taught in two schools where all of us on the faculty were asked to advise 6-10 advisees. In both schools, we never had more than 65 students to teach. Structures designed to help us serve students well. https://www.edweek.org/leadership/opinion-want-to-value-every-student-stop-pretending-schools-dont-pick-winners-and-losers/2022/07
In 2021, 42 percent of high
school students said they experienced persistent feelings of sadness or
hopelessness during the past year, the report says, representing a 13.5 percent
increase from 2019 and a 50 percent increase from 2011.
Twenty-two percent
of students seriously considered attempting suicide from fall 2020; 18 percent
made a plan; and 10 percent attempted suicide, the report found. LGBTQ+
students were most likely to report having suicidal thoughts and behaviors.
While the report doesn’t examine what factors are causing the upsurge in mental health problems, changes in how people interact with each other, increases in misinformation, societal conflict, and social isolation from the pandemic could have been contributing factors, said Kathleen Ethier [director of adolescent and school health for the Center for Disease Control]. https://www.edweek.org/education/briefly-stated-february-22-2023/2023/02
“School Foundations Shift Their Focus to Students’ Mental
Health as Need Grows”
By Denisa R. Superville — Jan. 23,
2023
“The Cherry Creek Schools Foundation,
in the Denver suburb of Greenwood Village, is following in Littleton’s footsteps,
recently establishing a mental health relief fund to help students get
immediate mental healthcare, especially those who may not have insurance or
whose insurance may not cover their treatment. It’s also giving out small
grants to teachers to address students’ social-emotional well-being and
development.”
Making Mental
Health a Priority
“The Littleton Public Schools Foundation
has run short-term campaigns to boost teachers’ morale, including an effort by
parent-volunteers who wrote appreciation notes for teachers, while it considers
longer-term strategies focusing on educators’ well-being. Teachers can also
seek help through the district-provided employee assistance program. But the
foundation and the district are thinking about strategic support in the longer
term.
[Nate Thompson is the school district’s
director of social emotional and behaviors services.] “Thompson said that even
as foundations are stepping up, it’s incumbent on state and federal governments
to recognize that school districts are dealing with an unprecedented challenge
that calls for permanent funding to help meet student and staff needs.
“‘Part of the challenge in the community and in the nation right now is that there is such a patchwork and disconnected system of mental healthcare that it’s really requiring schools to be on the front lines of this,’ Thompson said. ‘At some point our state and national systems of education are going to have to reckon with the fact that schools are taking on a huge role in mental health and make [mental health care funding] a standard part of school funding.’” https://www.edweek.org/leadership/school-foundations-shift-their-focus-to-students-mental-health-as-need-grows/2023/01
“After a Rash of Student Suicides, This School District Stepped Up”
By Denisa R. Superville — Nov. 23, 2022
Tony Poole, the Cherry Creek district’s assistant superintendent of special populations:
“This isn’t going to solve the mental health crisis. It won’t solve the mental health crisis in Cherry Creek. It won’t solve the mental health crisis in Colorado. It can be a start. It can be a model for other school districts in Colorado. It can be a model for other schools around the nation if it works—we hope it does.”
“It has about 180 school psychologists,
social workers, and staff providing mental health services to schools, and this
year it added 12 full-time staff to work with schools at a cost of $1
million. It also recently hired a social-emotional learning coordinator.
“The district is also using a grant from the
state education department to add counselors in grades 1 through 5,
according to Steven Nederveld, Cherry Creek’s mental health director. (They’re
available in high and middle schools.)
“Cherry Creek is also expanding partnerships with other health providers, with the goal of ensuring there’s a full-time or part-time school-based therapist in each of its 67 schools, he said.” https://www.edweek.org/leadership/after-a-rash-of-student-suicides-this-school-district-stepped-up/2022/11
“Federal Pandemic-Relief Funds Drive
Down Student-to-Counselor Ratio—Ever So Slightly,” Education Week, Briefly Stated: Jan. 18, 2023.
“The infusion of federal pandemic-relief funding into schools has made a
dent in the student-to-counselor ratio—a very little dent…. It’s dropped to
408 students per counselor, the best ratio on record in more than
three decades, according to a recent analysis by the American School Counselor
Association, from 415 in the 2020-21 school year. What the ASCA recommends is
250 students per counselor…”
“The ratio is significantly worse for elementary and middle schools than for high schools. In grades K-8, the average ratio ranges from 613-to-1 to 787-to-1. In grades 9-12, the ratio ranges from 205 to 243 students per counselor.” https://www.edweek.org/education/briefly-stated-january-18-2023/2023/01
Of course we need counselors. And therapists. Absolutely, all hands on
deck. But to begin there is to put the cart before the horse. (See AV
#215 – “To reduce class size – more teachers, fewer counselors
- Teachers as advisors to 8-10 students works well in many schools,”
9/21/2020.)
Let’s design
schools with classroom size and teacher-student ratios as our prime
consideration. Start with what is best for students to be known and engaged,
and for teachers to be successful. The benefits for both will be profound. And
if you think that’s crazy, let me ask: What do you call a system where
teachers are expected to know and do their very best … for 170 students?
