First day @ WCHS

This morning I arrived at WCHS bright and early, as did two other fellow MAT-ers, for the first of 70 days student teaching. Upon my arrival, I expected to walk right into the principal's office and be with my supervising teacher within a matter of minutes.

Not so.

Apparently there had been some sort of intense physical altercation on one of the buses, and it had effectively corralled the time and attention of all three principals. For the better part of an hour, there was a whirlwind of administrators popping in and out of offices, meeting with students, and ushering an officer of the law from room to room (apparently handing out citations!). This wasn't exactly the type of excitement for which I had tried for the last several weeks to prepare myself.

Around 8:30 one of the principals was finally able to carve out a couple of minutes to introduce himself, cover a few basic policies, and usher us to our STs' rooms. Walking into Mrs. Manning's room was a breath of fresh air. When I walked in, the 9th grade students were in the midst of a vocabulary test, and Mrs. Manning was coursing the rows of busy pens and pencils scratching away on filler paper, bantering with the students as the worked.

I observed Mrs. Manning once last year, and I immediately saw that she has control of the class; however, the atmosphere is positive, even humorous most of the time; her control is firm without being at all tense. For example, during a vocab quiz later that day, she pulled a cap-gun from out of her belt (that had been completely hidden by her jacket) and belted, "Hands up!" to check the students' hands for vocab words scribbled in ink. And it was hilarious. Sure enough, there were no offenders.

During 3rd period Senior English, Mrs. Manning gave a test prep for "On Demand" writing tests that the seniors will be taking next week. The test requires students to be familiar with several rhetorical modes and be able to write in an assigned style on the demand of a random prompt. Today the students prepared by reading a prompt, brainstorming, and composing rough drafts.

The particular prompt assigned was a letter to be written to one of Kentucky's US Senators persuasively expressing the student's position on the issue of labeling cloned food. As I walked around the room and answered questions and assisted students, I observed that almost none of the students understood the prompt. Some thought they were supposed to give their opinion about cloning itself rather than labeling; others didn't understand who the recipient was supposed to be; others didn't understand that it was essential to read the entire prompt. And very few if any seemed to care. Upon reflection, I don't blame them. How is someone supposed to write with passion and persuasion about a topic that he or she has not experienced or at least spent time studying? This is trying to coerce the students into writing without engaging in any writing necessary prerequisites: namely, reading and thinking.

This form of testing seems to be symptomatic of a disease plaguing modern American education: teaching to the test. The testing springs from what is no doubt the best of intentions: that students learn important skills and apply them in some quantifiable manner. So, a test is concocted that says if students can do X, Y, or Z on the test, then they have mastered root skills A, B, C. However, the focus in the classroom shifts from intellectually-rich core concepts to training students to regurgitate on cue.

What I mean is this: today students did not research the issue of cloned foods, cloning, the nature of bureaucracy, or the constitutional responsibilities of the Federal Government nor of themselves as responsible citizens. Moreover, the students did not read literature that has sprung from similar issues: books like The Jungle by Sinclair Lewis, for example. And because the students did not read pertinent information and literature, they did not engage this very serious issue with the minds with which God blessed them; they did not think. No. They felt around in a dark room that contained a vital rhetorical mode, but without irreducible antecedent experiences and thoughts, the light remained turned off.

Misgivings about "The System" aside, I am excited about what the semester has in store. I feel quite encouraged by my supervising teacher, her classroom demeanor, instructional methods, and our interaction, in addition to my interaction with the students thus far.