A Teacher Reacts to Unpopular Opinions surrounding Teaching & Education
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- Опубліковано 23 сер 2024
- My IG followers sent in unpopular opinions about teaching, schools, education, etc. I share the unpopular opinion and react by sharing why I agree or disagree. I'm an 8th-grade math teacher in Tennessee and I'm glad you're here!
IG: msparkersmith
Etsy: msparkersmith
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I’m sure my opinions will change through more years of experience and research. Even hearing y’all’s argument will change my mind. Let me know what you think! I wrote them out here:
Good teachers are the mean ones
Overly colorful classrooms are tacky and overwhelming
Kids wearing hoods don’t bother me
Papermate Flair pens are the best
Grades aren’t necessary
I like state testing and evaluations
I have a special place in my heart for “disruptive” students
Traditional school isn’t for every kid
I love when students tell me I’m wrong or made a mistake
School support staff is UNDERPAID and that needs to be talked about
It’s okay to let a kid sleep in class if they need it
High school students should learn a trade- even if college bound
Homework and harsh work policies are counterproductive
Technology doesn’t make our lessons better
Student behaviors have not gotten worse over the past 28 years
Kids need more freedom as they get older. 18 year old can vote but need permission to pee
I like being the first one at school or the last one there
Minimum grades should be 50/100 no 0’s
Kids should know when you’re having a bad day or frustrated. Show them how you deal with it
I love professional development days/meetings
Photocopying, stapling, etc. is fun. It’s so methodical and I feel accomplished afterward
Teaching math is actually easy
People who say they are effective only working contract hours are lying
School counselors do WAY more than they get credit for
The first class period is the best one
Some teachers don’t care if their students pass or fail
I will reply even if it’s late. If they’re asking for help I don’t care about the time.
Let students use their phone when they’re done with a task, we would too
Noisy classrooms are the best classrooms
Free snacks from admin are never worth it
Cleaning the artroom sink is therapeutic
I enjoy parent teacher conferences
Teachers make good money
Math >>> ELA
Round year schooling would be better
I get the whole “make it fun” engagement idea, but I don’t necessarily agree
I love having care drop odd duty
The pledge of allegiance is menticide
Politics do belong in the classroom, not every political belief is okay to hold
Parent need to be told no more often
Great video! I think I wouldn’t mind state testing so much if it were more equitable. A lot of students struggle on those tests because the prompts may not be relatable or even language/cultural barriers. I think testing has a long way to go 🙂 I totally get what you mean though about it being helpful
I can definitely see that being the case, I also think testing is more straightforward with math than other subjects.
@@MsParkerSmith that makes sense! In English it can be difficult because it often has students answering prompts in essay form which is where a lot of language or cultural barriers can come in. I remember in college I had to do a timed write and the topic was about over population which wasn’t a topic I was familiar with. It was definitely an eye opening experience when I think of state testing! It made me realize how stuck a student can feel when they are asked to write about a prompt they don’t know anything about even if all the evaluators are looking at is the writing conventions
I agree with most of your opinions (I'm also a 3 so maybe that's partly why haha)! As for grades, in British Columbia (Canada) a lot of schools are changing over to proficiency scales. While these scales do get converted to grades at the end, students don't get a grade on every single assignment. Instead, their work is assessed against the scale ("Emerging", "Developing", "Proficient" & "Extending"). I like this because I think it shows the student that there is room to grow rather than labelling them with a letter grade.
Woo, another enneagram 3!! We look at proficiency scales on tests to gauge understanding, but haven't used them for grades. I could see it being a good thing if the students focus was mastery of content rather than a letter grade. Does your school not pass out progress reports or report cards then? So interesting to think about.
@@MsParkerSmith They have progress reports but instead of grades, the reports have formative feedback from the teacher in the proficiency category the student is currently in. So while the student knows how they're doing, they don't know what their grade is until the last one-on-one conversation where the teacher goes over the student's final grade with them. It's still super new-I've only tried it once-so I'll have to see how it works out over the next few years!
I love watching your content! Can’t believe we went to HS together and are now both teaching middle school. I have to say I do agree with most of your opinions!! I never deny a good snack. Props to you for teaching math! I’m definitely an ELA and Social Studies teacher for life 😂
Aww thank you, Jenna 😊 I'm so honored you watch it! Maybe one day we'll teach at the same school!! Props for teaching ELA AND Social Studies
I can't believe I'm watching most of this video at this time of day. I think your video editing technique, the way you keep it moving, helps! Great idea to do this, nice to hear so many opinions, and I didn't hear anything I disagreed with. Thanks!
Something that really changed my mind on a 50% rule (especially with how much kids have been struggling with online learning) is that if a kid has something going on first quarter (home issues, mental health issues, learning disabilities going unaccommodated) and doesn’t get things turned in, if we give them a 50% they still fail the quarter but have a possibility of turning it around second quarter. If they get a 0%, even if they get a full 100% second quarter there’s no chance to succeed. Im all for accountability and I think the 50% rule could be modified to support that but in general I think it’s alright. If the kid STILL doesn’t do anything second quarter (in my example) they still fail and have to learn that lesson.
I love your sweater! 💗
I'm in grad school rn to be a science educator. I love looking at education research I love how you say "I agree but idk the solution" for some of these cause THIS!!!! Like there is a lot wrong, but not a lot of alternatives that look better. People who aren't in education say all of these things need to change. But to WHAAAAAAT
I’m not a teacher but am a social worker at the elementary level so I’m always interested in teacher vlogs! I think the biggest issue with state testing is that it’s tied to funding, which I really think it creates the stress that it does for both teachers and students. Also, I live in Texas so our test itself is awful 🙃. I think that benchmarks and assessments are super valuable for data, just like you said, but the dosing we use (once a year) and the ways we use the results are awful!
I’ve been teaching 11 years, and I have finally figured out how to work mostly only contract hours. I do think this comes with experience and time. It’s super hard to do that your first few years. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve still pretty available, but I don’t do much work at home.
I'm looking forward to those days! Thank you for teaching for 11 years, I bet you've learned a lot in that time.
Loved this! Such a fun video idea!!
Thanks Abbey!! I have to admit I felt good about the idea as soon as I thought of it lol
I’m not sure that I would use that word to describe the pledge (mostly because I don’t know the word lol), but I have grown to find it bizarre that we stand up once a day in American classrooms to recite our allegiance to our country. I’m only a high school senior; I plan to major in middle education. In school, I don’t say the pledge anymore. I stand because frankly, I’m not that bold, but no one can tell I’m not saying the words because of the mask. Last year, I started not saying “under god” because I am not religious. It doesn’t make sense for me. Looking back, when I was taught the pledge in kindergarten, it scared me. Of course my right hand went over my heart, but my teacher taught us to put our left arms behind our backs. I still do that! Obviously, it was because we were five at the time at she didn’t want us, you know, hitting the kid next to us with our left hand, but I thought I’d get in trouble with some higher being if I did it wrong. Clearly, this is an opinion that a teacher couldn’t bring, but I hope to teach in a district where admin would not be upset if they found out a certain kid opted to sit during the pledge. I think it should be a choice the students make; maybe parents have opinions about it in the home. Maybe it should be presented as “if you would like to stand now and say the pledge, you may.” I’d love to live in a time when that isn’t something we do anymore. It’s certainly not normal compared to other nations we liken ourselves to. I also think it’s beyond weird that we play/sing the national anthem at youth sporting events, but that’s a rant for another day.
I recently left a position that I LOVED as a high school instructional assistant because it wasn't paying a living wage and administration had very little respect for support staff's importance. I like the job I have now, and it pays the bills and I feel more financially secure, but I really miss the kids.
I hate to hear that and I'm sure it was a hard decision. Schools are probably missing out on great staff due to pay :/
I homeschool and like state testing. I do it voluntarily for myself because I can see how I am doing teaching and taylor the results to my child. I think the only benefit to standardized testing in public schools is to evaluate teachers. In practice, I have never seen a standardized test result on a better education for an individual child.
Hi Mrs Parker-Smith, these are some interesting opinions surrounding education and teaching and I've learned more from this.
Thank you for watching! I'm so glad.
Please tell me where you got your sweater because I am obsessed!
My friend originally bought it at a boutique, and I tried to find it online and I can’t find it anywhere 😩😩
I have this same sweater and I found it at Goodwill! It was a score 😻
I go to a private boarding school in New England and our school has a policy where if you even put your name on the paper, you get a 50%. Now in some ways, I like this because as a student at a hard school I know that a 50 would benefit me but I feel like at some point it's not a good rule. Kids can write only their name on a major essay and get a 50, this doesn't feel right to me. They should be given the grade they deserve based on the quality of what's there like the rest of us.
As a life lesson, always consider your own personal growth and goals without comparing yourself to others. The younger you learn this, the better.
Woah, such an interesting policy! I'm sure it takes away stress for some students, but it feels like at that point the grading scale should be adjusted 🤷 If students have zeros I bet the parents are like "all you had to do was put you name on your paper" lol
Super cute outfits! Thanks for sharing 👍😊
Hi! I teach middle school math (7th and 8th grade pre algebra) and my classroom is plant themed. I'm curious how you present lessons.
I had the realization that kids told me math lessons were fun when we were reviewing material from previous years so it was easy for them. Some stuff is just straight up hard and it’s very difficult to make it “fun.”
I agree :/ some students really struggle picking up new and difficult material in math and some concepts can be hard to come up with fun and engaging activities.
I enjoy your channel. I’m also going to be a teacher in TN. I’m excited whoooooo!
I am literally in her class lol
Aren't we all
What do you let the students do that finish their work early all the time?
Make mistakes on purpose and see if the kids notice them.
I LOVE your sweater 💕
😊😊 Thank you! I love it too
Ogga bogga do you have money to give me I need it to pay my brother for doing my homework?
Gina is associated nurse she have nursing degree julie Fowler have sewing degree my name is heather ha
Hey, come to find out I most definitely have ADHD or ADD so thats fun
The 3rd to the last and the penultimate are borne from totalitarian intolerance.
Hi ms parker smith i need help with my grades because i ead falling in my class
I'm sorry to hear that, I recommend you reach out to your teachers