I want to send my sincere thanks to the 2nd years for mentoring us 1st years through what will likely be one of the more challenging career/life situations we will experience. Being 1st year teachers is tough, and being 1st year teachers in critical needs schools can just about give you an ulcer. Your wisdom, leadership and experience made the process a lot easier.
In particular:
Karl, Angela, and Molly: Thank you for always being so warm and friendly, and for all the good advice.
Lisa: You were about the best mentor I can imagine. You were the one who initially showed me how to teach and as a mentor were always such a good listener. The package you got for me at the beginning of the(stapler, hole punch, etc...) year meant the world. I am really thankful that such a class act was my lead teacher during the summer and my mentor during the year. Thank you for everything and I wish you the very best because you deserve it.
With regards to the article on strip searching, I think what happened in Arizona was entirely inappropriate. I've had students have their bags checked because of hearsay from other students about stolen items. I feel something like that is entirely appropriate(bags checked) however too much searching can cause students to feel criminal which in turn can have a negative impact on Curriculum and Instruction in the classroom in that the students may begin to act more criminally. Therefore searches should only be conducted when sufficient evidence is present or when a potentially dangerous situation must be averted.
Strip searches for drugs should NEVER occur because the bad(emotional trauma for students) outweighs any potential good(possibly finding drugs). Strip searches for weapons/guns could possibly be acceptable but only if a metal detector first is used, I'm kind of iffy about that.
With regards to authentic/alternative/performance assessments I am at a crossroads. I see them as appropriate and beneficial with certain types of students, but only as a supplement to their traditional instruction. I know I am in the minority among my teacher corps peers in believing that standardized testing is a good thing and that traditional assessments are overall a better assessment tool than alternative assessments in most cases. This is true especially for the student populations we serve as teacher corps members. There are a number of factors that must be in place in order for alternative assessments(independent projects) to be worthwhile, and most of these are not in place at the schools we work in. Many of these alternative assessments require funding that the school simply doesn't have. This however, this is not the biggest pothole that must be crossed. The largest issues are the skills and motivation of our students. Project based assessment requires highly motivated students who have at least a basic understanding(preferably more than that) of the concept or objective covered by the assessment. It is in this way that students may enhance their understanding of a topic through a project to supplement their classroom instruction. Alternative assessments are not a very good way of developing base-line knowledge and skills which are things that a majority of my students do not have. Because of this I run a pretty typical classroom assessment-wise. My assessments consist of tests and quizzes that include multiple choice, fill in the blank, short answer, and matching questions with occasional alternative assessments mixed in(illustrations, powerpoint presentations, etc..).
My assessments in the future(summer/next year/beyond):
If I am teaching at a low-performing school I will continue to use more traditional methods. I believe that bookwork/lectures/note-taking/skill-building exercises are the best way to attain basic skills and knowledge that a majority of my students are lacking. I have learned from the alternative assessments I have given that my students will do the absolute minimum, if they do anything at all. Likely due to either apathy, laziness, or lack of skills necessary to complete the project.
If I am teaching at a good school with motivated/advanced students then I would definitely whittle some performance based assessments into my classroom. These assessments would hopefully enhance my students knowledge of an objective.
Roadblocks to adding more alternative assessments
1)funding
2)time
3)student motivation
4)Lack of basic skills necessary for alternative assessments
Reference:
http://www.rethinkingschools.org/archive/13_03/assess.shtml
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