In my next life...

I am going to be an educational consultant. There are many of these people out and about in the world of education. Some are former teachers, former administrators, former professors -- I think the key word here is FORMER. They make lots and lots of money to go into schools with a silver bullet to fix all the problems related to AYP, underachievement, etc. They have the ability to come into a classroom and give you all the strategies you will need to be successful. But they don't know you, they don't know your situation and they dang sure don't know your kids.

Today I had the distinct privilege of being visited by a literacy specialist. I am very thankful that my school wants me to be a better teacher. I appreciate the fact that I am able to learn from experiences and ideas of others. However, today was just not the day for all that. I was gone from school yesterday. I expected to spend my prep time catching up on what happened yesterday -- look over the papers the kids did, read the note from my sub (if she'd left one) and get ready for the day. Oh no, that didn't happen.

Thankfully a colleague let me know that I was on the "list" for a visit and so I was ready. I was in the middle of writing a little vocab quiz (22 words) when the charming lady came in. She stopped what I was doing....very, very long story short...I found my quiz abandoned and being told to watch her do her thing, and take notes so I could do the same thing in my next class. So after an hour of watching her treat my kids like 3rd graders and have them echo and do read-alongs I felt like I was back in college and visiting some type of Elementary school classroom.

My kiddos and I survived it. I maintained my composure when she basically questioned my teaching ability and knowledge. Thank goodness she didn't take a dry erase marker out of my hand like she did one of my colleagues (that would have gone over badly). It was remotely humorous when I tried my hand at the strategies she wanted me to use...I think my kids were tempted to see if I had a fever or it my Orthodontist scrambled my brain.

Her style of teaching is good. I am sure that it is well researched and data driven. Goodness knows her snazzy website means she is more than capable of doing a great job. But that is NOT me. I like my students to be independent and autonomous. I think challenging work is good. Not everyone is going to pass or get it all the time. No Child Left Behind sounds nice, but if you know anything it's not very practical.