The Power of Evaluation

As teachers we can underevaluate student progress, and we can certainly overevaluate. What are the factors behind these extremes? Underevaluators may not have the desire or ability to synthesize what they've taught. It is difficult to test when you don't have a handle on what you've taught. Overevaluators ( and I was one ) feel they can gain some form of control over behaviours by testing. It is a form of coercion. What's missing in this picture is building a relationship with students so that testing can become a more natural way to gauge their progress. The behaviours may in fact be in part a reaction to the coercion and the negative cycle is then fully engaged between testing, negative reaction and more testing.

Enlarging ethical space

As a classroom teacher, am I mostly concerned about covering the curriculum? If so, my interest in the student can easily take second place to the pressure of getting through it all. I can't just teach whatever I want in the prescribed curriculum. I am accountable to the parents and other teachers. If the student moves classes or schools, it is important that both that teacher and the student be able to pick up where I left off without big gaps. However, what I've learned to do is look over the curriculum and be sure to highlight the essential elements the students will need to both be successful on culminating activities and tests, but also to have sufficient understanding of transferable knowledge to another class or school. So rather than be anxious about covering everything in the textbook, I still have a lot of latitude once the essentials are dealt with. That's when teaching can get relational, especially when I can relax and enjoy the students as people.

Limits of Care

I admire really caring teachers, who know their students personally and encourage them with their kind words and genuine concern. But what are the limits of care? If a student lies or cheats, what does caring intervention look like? In the case that the student is caught in the act, is direct confrontation and issuing consequences uncaring? I would argue not. In fact, the really caring thing to do is to call the student to account while at the same time believing he or she has the ability and the will to change his/her behaviour. Why? First, unless we are caught and stopped, hedged in, as it were, we find ways to rationalize wrongs and even reoffend. Secondly, we have to care enough to challenge and correct, all in the spirit of helping the student be their best. Lastly, without limiting consequences, the student will have the license to be uncaring toward those who are implicated in their lying and cheating.
Let's not assume that students are any different than we are, in essence. We often only redirect wrongdoing toward doing what's right when we are caught and feel the temporary pain of natural or imposed consequences.

Schooling Versus Education

Schooling and education have quite different connotations in my view. Schooling places students and teachers in bureaucratic systems where anxiety tied to performance, performance set to rigid goals, goals imposed by political needs, and needs defined by employability all rule the day.

Education, however, has more to do with curiosity and the motivation to understand, individual goals and developing humaneness in students.

I have chosen to do my best to educate. This choice means more flexible timelines, a less content-driven curriculum (fewer detached bits of cognitive material ) and an openness to my students' own thinking and feelings about life and society.

I would enjoy reading other educators' views on this distinction.