Since the 1990s, our educational reforms have been heavily standards-based. It has been observed that setting education-based goals and aligning our teaching methods has not led to success.
Why Is This So
There are two sides to this. A few experts claim that they understand precisely why this lack of success has been observed. They believe that if American teachers were given autonomy, that is, if they were left to plan and execute all on their own, their students would be sure to excel in their education.
Literacy experts of the other viewpoint, after spending an adequate amount of time within schools, particularly in classroom settings, and working with students as a supervisor, as a teacher, and more, believe that there seems to be a problem. Let’s compare both.
The First ViewPoint
According to some literacy experts, reforms within schools that are standards-based could never be effective or work altogether until those running the education system grasp the concept that goes behind standard-based teaching. They believe these have not been understood for the past twenty-five years. To showcase this point further, experts make use of two notes that they’ve received from educators.
Takeaway
The notes revealed that those educators‘ schools were dedicated to promoting certain practices and activities instead of teaching. This was because the principals and the teachers wanted the students immersed in only certain activities, such as reading.
So, these educators were essentially only focused on promoting activities that can be considered their favorite classroom activities. They did this instead of focusing on what it was that the students wanted to do and know.
Experts claim that due to this promotion of only certain activities, the educators were only thinking about ways to make their students reach their set goals.
Further they believe that they are only thinking about whether or not they can align activities necessary with outcomes that they consider to be useful. They relate this way of thinking to that of a surgeon who is conducting surgery based on his own decisions rather than on his patient’s needs.
Concluding Thoughts
In the end, experts with the first viewpoint state that, until the educators focus on the standards of teaching, which means that until the educators conclude that their ultimate job is to make sure that their students are learning what they agreed to teach, it will always seem as if the students have failed.
They even refute that carrying out test prep is not a standard of teaching, rather just a particular activity that educators focus on that aligns with their set goals.
