“Are
we doing what is best for our students or are we doing what is most convenient
for us?”
To
answer this question, I think you need to look at individual teachers. There
are definitely teachers who teach for convenience and are just trying to take
the easy road and teach what is required of them. However, there are also
teachers who not only teach the curriculum provided to them, but also go above
and beyond, trying to give their students an enriching learning experience.
Let’s
look at the first option. Education is based highly on standardized testing
these days. It is not uncommon to hear teachers 3rd grade and above
talking about preparing their students for the FCAT and how everything they are
teaching is for that purpose. I believe that we can easily get lost in teaching
to the test. There are also teachers who are simply teaching out of the
textbook, making sure to hit the required standards, but not engaging their
students. I am not saying that teaching to the standards is bad, just that
there is so much more to expand on. They are teaching for convenience.
Looking
at the other side, there are teachers who truly are doing what is best for
their students. I work part time with a Kindergarten teacher, helping out the
struggling students in her class. It is amazing to see the experiences that she
gives these students. Her classroom is so busy (in a good way) with new,
exciting activities every day. Technology can play a significant part in
creating these experiences for our 21st century students. We have a
Promethean board in our classroom and it is enlightening to see the students’
faces light up when they are called to come up to the board and interact with
it. Although, there are so many technological resources out there for teachers
that are not being used. Think about how much our kids these days crave the use
of technology. Whether it is playing video games, posting on Facebook, texting
on smart phones, playing music on iPods, etc., they associate these items with something
fun. Therefore when we bring technology into the classroom and give our
students the opportunity to use it in an educational setting, it is easily
going to enhance their learning. Unfortunately technology is expensive and not
everybody can afford it. However, there are inexpensive ways to get started and
integrate some technology into your classroom.
So
overall, it is up to teachers as to whether they teach for convenience or do
what is best for their students. Teaching is a demanding job. As a first year
teacher last year, I completely understand how easy it could be to do the bare
minimum. It is not easy getting up at the crack of dawn to go in and prepare
things for the day and then go home and have a mile high stack of papers to grade.
The work is never-ending. The feeling you get, however, when you see the
delight in your students’ eyes and see the light bulb go off, over and over
again, makes it all worth it. Stop teaching for your convenience and give your
students your best! They deserve it!
