Time Warped?

   One of  the antiquated (yet very much appreciated) aspects to public education is summer break. The origin of this practice comes from when America had a predominately agrarian economy and youth were needed to help their parents ( & community) with the harvest. Most of the United States has, of course, moved away from the necessity for a summer break-economically, anyway. In fact, I'm sure many parents would save money if the public education system were to embrace the year round model nation wide.
   All that being said, there are certainly still pros to the summer break system. First, there is the all important effort to keep our educators (myself included) sane. I'm sure many, if not most, of my colleagues would agree that summer vacation is a welcome opportunity to pull ourselves back from the brink of madness every year. I mean, if your 2.4 kids drive you nuts, imagine having more than 30 (approximately per class) toddlers, elementary school, or teenagers for 8 hours a day...aaaaaahhh! I know those of you not in education think that we have it easy with "all the time off we get" but, believe me, we don't get as much as most think. Further, during the school year, teaching is certainly not a 7:30-3:30 job...that's just when we have kids. After they leave we still have hours of papers to grade and lessons to plan, so any "down time" we get is usually spent trying to keep ourselves organized. Second of all, the time off does give families an opportunity to spend time together or make pilgrimages. I teach in Texas. Many of my students take the summer break to go see family members in Mexico that they would not have an opportunity to see if they had to attend school year round.
   As an educator,  I must acknowledge all the research that suggest that students retain information at a much higher rate minus the summer break. With the Federal Government becoming ever more involved in education, time will only tell what changes will come. I'm sure that revising the summer break will be one issue on the table; I, for one, would be sad to see it go!

The Assembly Line

      In 1908 Henry Ford revolutionalized industry. The release of the Model-T truely changed the world. The assesmbly line not only changed the standard of industry; it effected the American mentality in general. The idea of "mass production" and "interchangable parts" filtered its way into every crevase of Ameican life-including education. Over the years, the one-room school house disappeared and in it's place appeared large schools equipped to serve more students. Yes, America...send your children to us and we, public education, will return to you a "standardized student". Every child will learn the same things, at the same time, and to the same depth and complexity as the one next to him in spite of any learning differences or economical, cultural, or social challenges he or she might face. We have the assembly line classroom where everyone learns the same...right?
      Now, when stated like that we see how ridiculous the whole idea seems, but in its defense, the  American "assembly line" classroom led the world in education for more than 50 years. So, to say that it didn't work would be to dismissive and short-sighted at best. However, the reason for its success in the early to mid-twentieth century also explains the reason for the system's decline: the world is changing rapidly. The difference is, that in the early 1900's, the changes in our classrooms reflected the shift from the agrarian economy an industrial one. Unfortuneatly, as our world continues to shift (this time from continental to global economy) we have failed to update our educational practices to reflect those changes.

But, two (or more) teachers?

      To many traditionalist teachers and students alike, the idea of having more than one professional in the classroom sounds a little, well, confusing. I've heard questions like, "who's in charge?" and "who's ultimately held responsible if problems arise?” These are valid questions, but the answer is surprisingly simple: everyone involved in the class. So, if there are 25 students and two teachers assigned to a class, then the 25 students are responsible to themselves and each other and both of the teachers are held equally accountable. The key word in that sentence is, "equally". For the co-teaching relationship to be successful both of the instructors must have joint, equal ownership and responsibility; much like an arranged marriage. For a marriage to work, both partners must respect and value the others strength and contribution. If one attempts to dominate the other, eventually, it will lead to resentment and conflict.
   With respect, I understand the perspective of the teacher whose been held solely responsible for his classes/students their entire career. It is a big philosophical shift to move from "these are my kids" to "these are our kids". The I-me mentality is a difficult to overcome; just as the "us, we" mentality is difficult to embrace. I freely admit that the shift from singularity to team takes time and commitment, but if we are to meet the demands of our students, it is a change that must be made.

What is co-teaching?

   Traditionally, co-teaching has been defined as two teaching professionals sharing in the planning, presentation, and assessment of a class's instruction. Usually, this consist of a content specialist (math, english, etc) and a educational strategist (special education teacher). As federal mandate pushes more and more toward full inclusion of special needs students, this model has been adopted in an effort to ensure that students and teachers have the proper support to implement these changes effectively. The special education teacher, referred to as an 'inclusion' teacher, is equally responsible for the instruction of ALL students in the classroom, not just the students who recieved support services based on an Individual Education Plan (IEP). Her role is to use her expertise to diversify the instruction so that all students have access to the general curriculum to the fullest extent possible.  In a perfect scenerio, both teachers are assigned to only one class at a time so that the inclusion teacher can fulill her role effectively-which means that BOTH professionals are seen by the students as equals. Unforunately, due to staffing limitations, most inclusion staff find that they cannot focus all of their attention in just one classroom per instuctional period. Frequently, they must support 2 or more classes per section and therefore the ideal scenario of equal accountablilty is seldom fulfilled.
   In response to this problem, many schools have expanded the term 'co-teaching' to include any collaborative effort within the classroom. It can be the teacher of record and another professional, paraprofessional, qualified parent volenteer or even a student who has been prepared for the class. Expanding the definition of who can co-teach has lead to more opportunies for successful collaboration. The important factors to remember when two or more people are entering into a collaborative effort are joint accountablity, effective planning, and designation of each participants role in the presentation or instructional activity. If these elements are properly executed, co-teaching is shown, without exception, to enhance student engagement, understanding, and academic performance.

Forward

What is co-teaching and inclusion? Why are they important concepts for both students and educators? Is co-teaching best for ALL students? or Are there some students that are better left in special classes outside of the general classroom? These and many other questions are being constantly rattled around professional developments and conferences these days. Throughout this blog, I will attempt to answer these and many other questions regarding basic definitions, but I hope to accomplish much more than simple understanding. It is important that parents, teachers and students come to appreciate the power of multiple educators and collaborations taking place within our classrooms. Human beings are social creatures. We learn through our socializations. The more we talk, share, rationalize and explore, the better we understand, internalize and apply them to our lives.
As we explore co-teaching, I hope that you consider the topic from every possible angle:

• What are the advantages?
• What are the disadvantages?
• What strategies would work in your classroom and which ones would not?
• Who are the collaborative entities involved? parents? students? professionals?

We'll begin by answering the basic question: What is co-teaching?