Response to Beers, Probst and Rief, Chapters 1 and 10

When I first started reading Chapter One, I found myself stunned that the author would be so bold with her political statements. As the initial shock passed, I found myself grateful for the comments she wrote. I had never seen an author courageous enough to be so outspoken in an academic text. Everything written had truth behind it. Although it was riddled with opinion, Beers was clear to back herself up with facts and examples. I loved that she included remarks from the author Daniel Pink. When I attended Saint Anselm College, I took a class entitled Curriculum and Assessment. We read much of Pink's work in that class. The purpose of Pink's work is to examine what is not working in our schools and to uncover ideas that do work in the classroom and to change the entire perspective of what learning should look like. Beers talks a great deal of "teaching to the test." As a substitute teacher for my local school district, I have always been present for Spring testing after getting home from college. Each year I see teachers struggling to prepare their students and students complaining of the difficulty of the work. Because so many students were behind in math and language arts, they were forced to learn concepts they were not ready to learn as the foundation had never been laid. This past year, however, the school began using the Smarter Balanced Exam. Unlike other standardized tests, this test is designed to test 21st century skills, rather than pure knowledge and IQ. Teachers therefore no longer need to teach repetitive knowledge and facts, rather the tools students need to succeed in life. I believe while the intentions of other standardized tests may be good, these tests are not meant for all students. Each child is unique. If we are going to promote individualized learning, our tests should reflect the teaching practices. Beers wrote in Chapter One about a story of students forced into a remedial literacy class in which the students lost all desire to continue, who were disheartened by their need to be in the class. Despite their progress on the tests, the students still needed to make AYP on the next exam. I believe motivation is very important to students. All students should know why they are learning and be given reasons for why it is important in their every day lives.

Chapter 10 delves into what learning should look like in the 21st century classroom. Students should be learning skills to help them to succeed in the modern day workforce. Students no longer to memorize facts and dates, but need to learn how to acquire information and then interact with it. With the invention of the internet and search engines, we have access to all the information we will ever desire. We need to teach students how to research, find the facts and then USE what they find in order to produce meaning and new ideas. As a Social Studies teacher, I do not need students to memorize specific details or dates. Rather, I should expect my students to look at the past, learn from its successes and failures in order to understand the present and prepare for the future. Students in a 21st century Social Studies classroom should learn how to research, interpret, and analyze historical events. Learning how to use effective communication techniques and new technologies, Social Studies students should continue to move towards what methods to use that might help them in their post-secondary lives. In The Flat World and Education, Linda Darling-Hammond writes: "Thus the new mission of schools is to prepare students to work at jobs that do not yet exist, creating ideas and solutions for products and problems that have not yet been identified, using technologies that have not yet been invented" (Darling-Hammond, 2010, p. 2). Teachers need to show students how to use skills that can be applied to any field and any situation. The world has been changing at a rapid pace, and it is our job to prepare students for this type of world, and discontinue, as author Jim Burke says, treating schools like we are still living in the Industrial Revolution.