Incompatible

2 thoughts on “Incompatible”

1. Steven

   November 14, 2016 at 10:13 am

   “…the structure of the system is incompatible with the nature of language learning….

   Then the next question is what are we going to do about that?”

   What are people WILLING to do? For me, it seems that the more freedom we have as professionals, the better we can align with Krashen’s hypotheses. The better the classroom conditions are the better we can deliver CI. It seems that there are WAY too many compromises that teachers are doing and those results are actually only a fraction of what CAN happen like more intrinsic joy for both the students and teacher. — Excuse the capitalizations, I am doing that to make it bold.

   Having our hand tied, or at least the belief that we do, is affecting our mindset. When a system becomes too despotic or when admin becomes intolerant, that is when our work suffers. The kids feel stupid. In my environment, kids are trained a little too well in the projects, explicit/direct teaching, testing cycle that is my site. So when they come, they are not comfortable being human beings to each other and to me, their teacher.

   An observation I have made: my best students are ones who have the best rapport with their parents. My poorest are the ones with the worst rapport with a caring adult, who may have a cellphone or a computer for most of their afternoon hours. Here, we need 7 times more praise for these students.

   “..too many teachers are still working in that level of low-grade fear that they don’t know what they are really doing.”

   The fear makes teachers cave in. There is so much information that I have been lost for words when confronted. Yet, the conviction that Tina has demonstrated so well is ON POINT. We can all demonstrate how we align, via writing/subverting our districts’ standards, connecting with our community of parents and even just sticking to our guns and keeping that union rep’s number ready. There must be a plan/blueprint.

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2. Ben Slavic

   November 14, 2016 at 10:39 am

   Steven said:

   …having our hand tied, or at least the belief that we do, is affecting our mindset….

   and also:

   …there must be a plan/blueprint….

   I believe that there is a definite blueprint. It’s just too big to put in one place and easily transmit to those in our buildings who would benefit from it. We have the Primers and especially those articles by Robert Harrell (and we can read more on his site which is getting more and more active now that people realize what resources – readers and general informational articles about CI – he has there). But Steven it is the sheer size of the change that makes us feel as if our hands our tied. What do cowboys in movies who are tied to a fence with their hands behind them do? They slowly rub the ropes together. That is what we are doing now. It will take years. But think of how it will feel when we break free and those in our buildings understand and value what we bring to them and, instead of confronting us out of ignorance (Tina’s principal comes to mind as a seriously egregious example), they shake our chafed hands and we say to ourselves, “Finally!”

   We are not in charge of the timing. We are grunts. We just go in and do another great or shitty story, with faith and trust and love in our hearts that we are bringing real change to what kids experience in school. At least in one subject. That is enough.

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