Kontan Jou

I am disturbed by my AP meeting the other day. Allow me to preface by saying I find student feedback very beneficial and I use it frequently to adapt my teaching to the current group. However, I also find that it is feedback from a teenager that lacks understanding of course standards/requirements and teaching to the whole. Students are individuals, as we are, and they hear what they choose to hear and see what they choose to see. I believe that we as teachers do the same. For instance, I tend to evaluate myself harshly, and take a significant amount of time to discover the positives. Therefore when there is criticism, I take it seriously and seek to make necessary improvements.

When I hear that students believe I teach from the text I am very surprised. I don’t rely on their textbook for anything but a point of reference because that is the resource that was provided to them. I am teaching a subject in which the content doesn’t change. Therefore any resource you use will contain the basic facts, and differ only in interpretation. In class I focus on these various perspectives and frame discussions around them.

My students are apparently sick of hearing “it’s AP” and believe this is just me putting them off. Regardless of how sick of hearing “it’s AP and you’re going to have to face that” the students are, it is the reality. It is AP and they do have to face the fact that the nature of the course requires them to be self-motivated. That means they do have to gather the basics on their own. They have been given all the tools to do so. For my class that includes: a large syllabus with a significant number of discussion questions, topic lists, pacing calendar and list, class assignment board, graphic organizers with basic information, and PowerPoints on each topic. If they do not “get” the point of receiving all the material they are given and framing class discussion to the context of the subject then I am not certain what to do about that. For example, Mr. Frantic interjected disapproval one day because he felt our discussion was off topic. Other students made the connection to the Revolution that in life there are some people who want a leader and others who want to lead. There are always groups that are comfortable with the status quo and resist change. This same student feels that cultural history is bunk and a pointless topic of instruction. Unfortunately for him, that is the direction of modern historical emphasis. What am I supposed to do with that? It is a difference of opinion. He is a student that has not spent the last fifteen years focusing on historical trends and perspective, but also a student who is vocal and willing to step up when asked for his opinion. Today he asked, “why are we even talking about these guys?” SERIOUSLY? Why are we discussing Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson…comparing/contrasting them? Excuse me, but really???? IT’S AMERICAN HISTORY! Development of the two party system, father of the national debt and guy who doubled the size of the United States and you are asking me why we are talking about them?

My school is full of students similar to Mr. Frantic. They have their opinions and feel that they are 100% accurate. Again, I am not sure what to do with their input and what weight it should have on my instruction methods. As a teacher it is my job to differentiate instruction, but I can’t totally revamp course instruction because some individuals want it done their way. I know that it is not admin’s expectation that we revamp anything, but merely use the feedback as a point of clarification. However, when getting negative feedback it feels as if there is concern and the expectation is that something has to change.

I understand the need for student feedback…really, I do. When looking at the big picture I perceive my methods fit into the end goal of preparing students for college. However, if there is a vast discrepancy between what we perceive and what our students perceive then something needs to change. For instance, I feel that I am expecting them to read each night and prepare for class with the basics. (The identifications and discussion questions.) If they are spending an average of two hours each week on my class then there is a problem because I am spending a vastly greater amount of time preparing for instruction. This tells me that simply giving them the tools to get what they need is not enough. They need more directed work that I should hold them accountable for. Only spending an hour or two each week? Not cool, things WILL change.

What do I get when expressing these thoughts to admin? You seem defensive and the other AP teachers do not feel that way. Um…OK, then they are lying to one of us b/c the three I talked to said, QUOTE “the meeting was a waste of time” and went on to say that they felt the list of comments we received could apply to any one of us, or all. I was also told that AP isn’t really a college level class and isn’t taught like a college professor would teach. You know, I have taught college and the only difference is the number of assessments done at the high school level. The rest…yeah, bout the same. I expect them to read. I expect them to think. I expect them to participate. I give them the tools and they use them. I know they are high school students and we have to train them, but they are also high school students taking a class that can earn them COLLEGE credit if they pass the exam at the end. Don’t tell me at the beginning of the year to rais the freakin’ bar and then express concern when I do that and students complain.

All around frustrating. I hate being told that we need to find a better way and that better way not being clearly provided.

Lesson learned today: Keep your head down, your mouth shut, and just do your job. Go through the motions and make it to the end. Your opinion really does not matter if you are a teacher. The customer is always right…even in education where the customer is a teenager with less experience in the subject and real world.

I’m ready to teach college again. I received a taste of it, and I like it. What I am currently doing, not working for me.