I went to an all-day workshop today on co-teaching with my co-teacher. Co-teaching is one way that schools are trying to meet the goals of inclusion of students with special needs. Basically, we don't want to "pull kids out" for "being special" anymore. It's stigmatizing and humiliating. So we put a general educator and a special educator in a classroom together with students who have and do not have disabilities, and find ways to make sure that all of them learn and achieve. Which is easier said than done. Hence the workshop.
The presenter, who, incidentally, is the sister of Cheryl from Curb Your Enthusiasm (!), asked those present to name one thing that they feel like they need in the classroom in order to be successful (i.e. a desk, a computer, an arrangement of student desks that allows for easy accessibility, etc.). And this woman in the back goes, "Chocolate!"
At that point, Molly, my hilarious co-teacher, mutters under her breath, "Jeezus! I hate that kind of silliness!" I giggled, and then refocused on the question at hand. At lunch, though, the matter re-emerged. Why is there so much silliness in the teaching profession? Why do so many (white, middle-aged, female) teachers wear those gawd-awful emboidered apple turtlenecks, denim jumpers, and dangly earrings that match the lesson of the day or the nearest holiday? Why the cheesy teacher-bags? Why the annoying signs with truisms on them like "Where there's a will there's a way!"? Why the surplus of tackniess? Why the relative out-of-touchness with... I don't know, reality?
Am I being overly judgemental, here?
2 comments:
Amen to that. Although I work in a district that's too jaded for apples on jumpers, if I here one more useless silly comment while our students are failing, I'll seriously lose it.
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agreed!
why did i not have this word, SILLY, in my vocabulary before? it's so perfect for describing the frustrating behaviors i observe!
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