Another poll, coming from a comment on another thread. Who do you think is responsible for student learning? Is it wholly you? Wholly the child? A combination of the two? IMO, I am the one who takes the major responsibility for student learning. I am the adult, the professional. It is my classroom. I need to make sure the kids learn. I am able to check our progress through assessments and reteaching. If my kids don't perform well on state tests (or in class tests) I take the responsibility. *Now, I don't expect a kid testing a the lowest level to test on grade level in one year. Many states rely on value-added growth, or growth beyond what would be expected in a year. If my low kid gains a lot in value added growth, moving from "limited" to "basic" (the two lowest categories in Ohio) that should be considered a success. Or if a kid moves from the 3rd percentile to the 5th, that is a much bigger success than a kid moving from the 55th to 57th percentile (basic bell curve, more in middle that on either end). So yeah, I put the majority, not all the responsibility on me. What do you think and why?
It is my responsibility, as a teacher, to provide the experiences and opportunities that my students require. I need to assess where they are, meet them there and move them forward. If a student isn't progressing, it is my job to try to figure out why and to tailor my instruction to meet their needs.
I was looking for the "like" button for this response, but then I realized I wasn't on facebook! Your response is a concise version of what I was going for!
I think it's both, but mostly the teacher's responsibility. I tend to think the ratio starts out with Pre-K/K 100 percent being all the teacher's responsibility, and then balancing out to 50 percent each for seniors in high school and their teachers. Does that make sense?
I think we all agree that the second option is the most accurate. I think our opinions may be different accordingly to the grades we teach. If you were an high school teacher, would you tell your students that if they fail it means that you are a bad teacher? If you did all you could -and I mean, you went out of your way - and some still didn't do their part, are you to blame? You think a student will benefit, in the long run, for choosing not to get engaged in the learning process? Do these questions have easy and universal answers?
I think the parents need to be brought into the mix as well. As a primary grade teacher, I feel that it should be a shared responsibility between the parents and the teacher. We need to encourage the children and hopefully with time, they will learn to be responsible for their own learning.
I was just getting ready to say the same thing Iteach. I look at education as being a combination of many forces. You have the combined efforts of the parent, the teacher, the school, and the child coming together to hopefully provide proper education. I truly believe if you are missing even one part of the puzzle, the child is not receiving the best education possible.
Well, as a high school teacher, I actually chose the 3rd option. Now obviously, it's my job to create learning experiences and opportunities for all of my students. But... there are a number of students I've had who completely and totally refused to do anything. I offered extra help, I offered study sessions, I offered breaks on deadlines... nothing mattered, the students did nothing. Their common response was either "I'm just waiting until I'm old enough to drop out" or "I don't need this class for anything". Now, try as I might to convince them otherwise, some students simply don't care. I think that as students get older, more of the responsibility falls onto them. I can create the opportunities, and tailor the environment, but ultimately, it's up the student whether or not they choose to take advantage of those opportunities. Most usually will... or will at least try.... but some will not. Is that a failure on my part? Perhaps... but then it's a failure on everyone's part when those students flunk out with 8 "F"s per term without a blink of concern about it.
I have to agree with Iteach and Kilikena. I teach PreK, and I think the parents play a HUGE part in the kids' learning. If I get a child in the morning who has come in with little sleep, no breakfast, etc it will definitely have a negative effect on their learning. I am totally responsible for the experiences I provide for learning in the classroom. The parents are responsible for making sure that their child is ready to learn each day.
