Please take some time to respond to this post - give specific examples
- What does Rigor mean to you?
- What does Rigor look like in your classroom? What would I see if I walked into your classroom - what would I not see?
- Why is Rigor important for our students?
As I sat and read the book, I was shaking my head in agreement with just about everything I read. I think that there are a lot of good points made. When the author was talking about visiting classes, I had some of the same experiences. I sat in on some classes during my student teaching. There were times when I was wondering what the heck is the point here? Why are the kids doing this? There seemed to be many exercises that kids were asked to do that had no apparent reasoning. They mostly felt like time fillers, not items of importance at all.
ReplyDeleteThe thing I am feeling the most passionate about is WHAT we are teaching. I mean, it feels like we have lost or forgotten the reason for high school in the first place. Aren't we here to prepare students for life after high school? It seems like the goal now is to get students ready for college... I guess that's fine. Assuming, of course, that all students are going to college. Oh wait! They aren't. The focus seems to be on test scores. Test, test, test. Even IF we could get higher test scores, we still have the same problem! Our young people don't know how to work! We can cover the standards perfectly, but the students still won't know how to be a productive member of a staff somewhere. Ask an employer anywhere, I dare you. There is a HIGH probability that they will tell you that they have ceased hiring people in their teens and early twenties. Kids come in with the wrong skills. They come with a "you owe me" attitudes. They don't seem to care if they are a "couple minutes" late. They don't see anything wrong with catching or sending a quick text on the job. Our kids don't know how to work!
That is the reason I value my CTE classroom so much. It gives me a chance to work with kids in a "real" environment, which makes a much more authentic experience for the students. This kind of environment just sort of begs for high expectations, and teaching higher level work ethic and professionalism skills. I feel like these skills are absolutely critical. Lots of knowledge can be gained on the job, but work related skills will help our students land the job and keep it long enough to learn some of the more in depth knowledge later.