Placement Experiences – Education in Living Water

Recently, a friend asked me why I thought my teaching practice should be shaped by distributive justice (equity). So this blog post is the long answer, which I couldn’t manage on a Friday night over dinner.

Two students.

One from a family whose parents completed high school and obtained a tertiary education, they have books in their house, the student is helped with his homework which includes the reading of an age-appropriate book for English.

One from a family whose mother completed high school and works night shifts and a father whose literacy is where he left it in high school at the age of 15. His father tries his best to help with his homework but the book requires him to sound out the words aloud before he can help his child.

Which one is most likely to finish their homework to a better standard?

No one is equal in education.

The answer to this? Equity.

Equity acknowledges that people are inherently unequal. Students are born with characteristics like creativity or an affinity for algebraic equations. Some are born with impairments, or disabilities. Others, lag behind academically. Others have been born into high cultural capital families.

So what is equity exactly? Well here’s the layman’s definition:

Equity is the provision of resources to those who need them in order to create a level playing field.

Equity perpetuates inequality to create equality. (Woah). It discriminates on the basis of need to enable fairness of chances in succeeding.

In education this can take many shapes and forms. It can be the employment of Teacher’s Aides, diversifying learning activities or changing expected learning outcomes. Really, it’s being aware of student’s weaknesses, strengths and diverse backgrounds then acknowledging that these will impact the learning experience of every single student in a different way.

As a classroom teacher, I will never be able to provide the funding needed to employ a TA, purchase specialist resources or a far reaching educational program. However, I can differentiate my teaching. This uses all that I know (and can find out) about the students in my class and then alters my pedagogy (everything teacher’s do) to cater for the needs identified.

An example is of these two export tables. One was given to Year 9 students who were reading at a primary school level, the other to those at or just below stage level:

Note: I did six revisions of the readability of the export table, to change headings, simplify commodities, exclude the %’s traded, and the font.

Sometimes, this is time-consuming and often hard, so why bother?

I wrote this in a recent education assignment:

Differentiation requires learning objectives for all students to be the same, but ensuring tasks are tailored to meet the needs of individual students so that each have the opportunity to engage and learn.

What I really wanted to write was something far deeper and less secular.

The only thing that Christ treats equally is his love of people and hatred of sin. Jesus was sent to save the sick, not to call the righteous (Mark 2:17). Christ also treated those who were downtrodden with an unyielding compassion regardless of who was watching (Luke 7:37-50).

Although Christ’s love is far more pure, constant and unconditional that anything I can offer; my students are equal human beings who deserve me to care about them, however, I didn’t become a teacher to sit and watch students struggle when I could easily do something about it. I choose to discriminate my pedagogy so that a child who may fall into the cracks of the education system can achieve, even if it means another child’s worksheet hasn’t been read seventeen times for readability when they don’t need that treatment.

I also wrote this in the same assignment:

This [equity] is contrary to current discourse which requires teachers to be competent experts who are measured on the basis of standardized tests.

It is easy to forget equity when a standardized test like NAPLAN or an exam measures your ability to teach well. When differentiation is time-consuming and almost irrelevant to the national assessment of education, why use your time if the student isn’t even going to be able to read the question on the HSC test paper?

I wrote this:

That is, realizing how to cater for students is a life-long process, and I will not always be the expert, but that my praxis [way you teach] will be constantly reinvented.

What I meant was:

As a Christian, we are called to emulate the love and fruits of the Spirit that Jesus so awesomely displays to the world.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other. ~ Galatians 5:22-26

Sure, a teacher can’t be expected to fix the world– it’s infinitely filled with brokenness, and almost every student will be marred by this (#Jesus can fix all: Luke 18:27; Job 42:2; Jeremiah 32:17).

Yet if I’m faced with the decision to have a two hour nap on a Friday afternoon, or change all my slides to black and white, so that the student I just found out was colour blind can read the explanations, notes and instructions; actual kindness demands me to forego the nap. Or, despite the great desire to discipline the student who stands outside the classroom he’s just been kicked out of whilst banging on the door, screaming to be let back in; self-control reminds me he has an additional learning need, where he can’t draw the connection between being punished (in this way) and his behaviour so I sit him down, ask him why he’s outside, what he should have done then explain it’s fair to be outside.

Short answer: Equity. I think it matters. Jesus.

Another long post…

Throughout our placement courses, we are often reminded of how important it is to get along with our cooperating teachers (teacher supervisors/mentors) during placement. This is because they are the ones solely responsible for writing our placement reports. They decide whether we’ve met each standard, put in a decent effort or deserve to pass. Alongside this, however and whatever is written in that report is seen by the Department of Education during the recruitment interviews. CTs ultimately hold our teaching fate in their hands for three, four or even ten weeks; so an unhappy CT does not make for a happy placement life.

Now, most people assume that if a teacher has signed up to be a supervisor they should be understanding and keen to help out the new pre-service teacher. More often than not, this is true. My third year prac was amazing because my CT and all of the secondary staffroom endeavoured to make it that way. They let me be a creeper observing their classes, talked to me about why they chose to do a lesson a certain way, and were generally friendly. However, my first year placement was a little worse for wear. The supervisor sat down with me at the end of observation week to “help” develop goals for my placement; in actuality the result was less than helpful. I was yelled at, belittled and left with next to no confidence in my ability to teach over the next three weeks.

What I experienced was not an isolated incident for a teaching degree. For the university staff overseeing teaching students, it would have been a red flag. Questionably, I chose not to contact the university about the situation. This was partially due to an unwillingness to “snitch” and mostly to gain experience with colleagues who didn’t ‘float my boat.’

So what did I learn from dealing with my CT?

1. Give the benefit of the doubt

Even though I felt disregarded at times, I learnt to give my CT the benefit of the doubt in most situations. They have rubbish days and hectic lives too. It is better to believe that your CT actually cares about your success as a teacher rather than wanting you to fail, otherwise you simply start to begrudge everything that peeves you. Like poor days in the classroom, next period and tomorrow is a fresh start with students, it’s the same with your CT.

2. Listen well

During placement, I find that my emotions are heightened with words, inflections and gestures becoming a touchy battlefield for constructive conversation. In the haze of tiredness, difficult classes and planning it can be hard to actually listen to what someone is trying to tell you. Focus on what feedback is being given and how it applies to your teaching. Don’t be afraid to clarify points, even if you feel the feedback has highly critical undertones. Look for practical applications and remember that some suggestions will not suit your beliefs about education or teaching style. You will need to make a decision to ride that feedback wave, or to stick it out (especially if your CT brings the same point up again).

3. Patience

I learnt to extend the same patience that I gave the year seven boys to my CT (that was appropriate for our professional relationship, so no “you’re not talking while I’m talking” and waiting till she settled down). It took three weeks (out of four) for me to finally feel my CT respected me as an individual who listened to what I said. We built mutuality and reciprocity, without pushing each other under the bus.

4. Fake it until you make it

Placement is tough and so are difficult relationships. As teachers, we perform a highly organised routine with the classroom as our stage, everyday! We know how to look like we are calm, when we really just want to tear out our hair. My CT just reminded me, that alongside an amazing learning experience, the performance sometimes needs to leave the classroom and flash mob the staffroom.

One final point… if you are constantly left feeling terrible about yourself due to a CT’s remarks, contact the appropriate person immediately. Once criticism turns nasty and personal, it is not alright to remain in that placement for an extended period of time.

Remember, CTs are people with different personalities, lifestyles and tastes; but they are people none-the-less.

Category: Placement Experiences

But Why Do You Believe in Equity?

Dealing with Supervising Teachers