Wednesday, January 13, 2016

Searching for a support group- Undercover Un-School Teachers in Public Schools

I need a support group- 'Undercover Un-School Teachers in Public Schools'. Seriously. I really need the support of others because every day it gets more difficult to meld my personal ideology regarding how children thrive and grow within the classroom. Ugh. Teaching in a public school insists upon strict classroom management, limited opportunities for creativity in exchange for catering lessons to the state-directed learning goals, formal high-stakes assessments and tons of stress. Again ugh. So now Im in my emotions because I realize I am slowly becoming a servant of the machine. (If you are unsure of what machine Im referring to, or puzzled about my angle- refer to earlier posts to better understand the philosophy of Guiding Genius.)

In a perfect world, I would have the choice of creating my own curriculum, daily schedule and management techniques. My student numbers would be low. My children's parents and I would form alliances to work together in supporting our young geniuses towards achieving their individual excellences. Alas, this world is far from perfect. I am not in the position to leave the workforce and the monthly payments in exchange for my labor. Therefore the trade-off is I teach for the machine. And the machine has its own agenda and methodology for how it prepares its product. Consequently I find myself syphoning minutes from the daily schedule to lead group mediations in attempts to find my Zin when my 20 students develop a mean case of cabin fever but it's not my designated 'outside time' yet. We close the door and turn up the stereo then dance and wiggle away the boredom when the curriculum calls for activities that seem good in theory but are not relevant nor engaging (nor developmentally appropriate) to the demographic of my students. And lots of journaling and daydreaming about creating a/n (un)school that identifies the student's strengths and talents and focuses on those, rather than the general survey method Im currently employed to sell.

I wonder if such a support group exists on Meet-Up.com? I can't possibly be the only one dealing with this buyer's remise.

*Check this link out: http://creeksidelearning.com/homeschool-kindergarten/. This was suggested while on pintrest.com searching for clever ways to enhance my lesson plans. As you might be able to derive from my lament above, the post reminded me of the importance of 'old school'/'true school'. And now Im questioning my existence. (Dramatic much?)

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