To the Editor:
Ask the Teachers
I will say it again and maybe somebody will listen: ASK THE TEACHERS. Yet no one has been listening. So now, I will do it myself.
I am tired of hearing pronouncements from those at the top of the educational chain who are looking for pre-packaged solutions without consideration for the impact on both students and teachers, never mind on school budgets.
Meanwhile, no one asks the teachers – those who have spent their careers – for their recommendations about how best to help kids learn.
Well, now, I am asking you – the K-12 teachers in our 3 communities: If YOU had the ability to make improvements to the quality of education in your classroom or at your grade level, what would YOU do?
I am not interested in facilities or in test scores. I am more concerned about the required curriculum and the resources that are mandated by those in authority who offer rewritten goals and creative strategies that have been recommended by “experts” at the top – with little, if any, on-the-job experience – and developed by textbook publishers – who are in it for the money.
And I am more interested in advocating and promoting education at all levels that progressively enables students to meet the eventual obligations of their personal lives and provides them with the skills to gain satisfying employment or prepares them to successfully pursue higher education.
As a teacher – What would YOU do to help your students learn more easily and readily? What are the biggest challenges for you in your classroom? What do you need that is not already provided? What would you change?
Let me be clear with my intent. I am not asking as a municipal leader but as a private citizen with educational experience who is asking you – the teacher – to share your expertise which I will carry forward to the public.
This is not intended to be a gripe session. I am seeking positive suggestions that – if I receive 25 or more replies – I will send to the media for publication. Contributors will be identified only by grade level – K-4, 5-8, 9-12. But it’s time for your voices to be heard!
As a convenience, you can send your recommendations to my e-mail at bvonvillas@middletownri.com but I stress again that I am not asking as a municipal official but rather as an educator like you.
Barbara A. VonVillas
