My latest adventure included the opportunity to teach assessment strategies to future early childhood educators. I was thrilled at the opportunity and really it all happened by chance. I began sending out application packets when I finished course work thinking that I might find an adjunct position. As it happens, I found so much more!! Alas, I was not ready for the work ahead.....
For this particular endeavor, I was given a handy dandy little text book entitled Assessing in early childhood (5th ed.) by Sue Wortham. It was not a bad text although I might have chosen one that spent less time on standardized testing. Still, appropriate practices, and discussion of such, were plenty so I was content in this regard. Unfortunately, I soon found that I had little use for the text. It seems that I was mandated to teach developmentally inappropriate practices for the bulk of the semester (despite assurance during the interview process that I would have some academic freedom and could choose many of my own assignments with student input).
In this instance, efforts to meet accreditation requirements required students buy membership to a portfolio management system. In this system, they would deposit uniform assignments that each instructor/professor must teach. Different courses carry different portfolio assignments that must be submitted. I understand this practice. I know that in the history of higher education, lack of standards made some degrees from some schools more valuable than others. Teacher candidates at one university might be learning something completely different than teacher candidates at another university (although, this may not be all bad if we consider varied needs across our nation)(Boning 2007; Silver, 2006). However, never in my wildest dreams did I think I would be required to teach early educators how to administer a 20 item teacher made test that included multiple choice, short-answer and essay items. Moreover, these future early educators were required to administer a pretest to all their young students at once. Then, they would teach to the weaknesses noted on the pretest and retest at the end of their learning unit. Testing 20-27 children 8 years of age or under with such a tool, at the same time, is absolutely not developmentally appropriate!! We are working with teachers who will teach children, age 0-8!! Many of the children are just learning to talk. The seasoned teachers working with the early childhood candidates often expressed dismay at such antiquated methods of working with young children.
This was an embarrassment. I have spent five years pouring over literature, making observations and working with young children in an effort to do better for our children. I know better than this but, for at least the foreseeable future, I would have had a huge fight on my hands in an environment resistant to change. Indeed, I was expected to spend the bulk of the semester on this monstrosity while neglecting early intervention, developmental check lists, rating scales and teacher observations. Further, alternative learning environments were not explored, at all. The traditional classroom reigned supreme.
This reminds me that I gave full disclosure. I am not a fan of the traditional classroom and have no intentions of preserving it. Our children deserve freedom from oppression and I will fight for nothing less. Hence, I have refocused my efforts on dissertation. I have no idea where I will fit in the larger scheme of things but I intend to be much more careful about who I align myself with in the future. I must remember to protect my reputation as well - it would be difficult to gain good reviews when working in an environment in which one is philosophically opposed! Thus my explorations into the world of academia have begun.....
Boning, K. (2007). Coherence in general education: A historical look.
The Journal of General Education, 56(1), 1-16.
Silver, H. (2006). ‘Things change but names remain the same’: Higher education
Historiography 1975-2000. History of Education, 35(1), 121-140.
No comments:
Post a Comment