Page Two
I was impressed with how much less freedom and autonomy Ms. Teacher has to organize her classroom and her curriculum than my mother had. Moncur has to cope with all sorts of demands from the system which wants to tell her how to teach, how to run her classroom and how to measure success. Teachers’ tasks run the gamut from "decorat[ing] the bulletin boards ... and organiz[ing] learning centers" to making sure students eat their breakfast, provided by the state, in the classroom.
There’s a regular alphabet soup of programs to comply with:
* CMP, for Connected Math Program to develop understanding of important mathematical concepts, skills, procedures, and ways of thinking and reasoning;
* CMCD, Consistency Management & Cooperative Discipline, a research-based instructional discipline management system;
* NJASK, the New Jersey Assessment of Skills and Knowledge, a comprehensive, multi-grade assessment program.
Then there’s NCLB — better known as No Child Left Behind — the 2001 law that requires school systems to set high standards and use standard tests to determine if those standards are being met. Moncur says the pressure on teachers to reach those goals is "horrendous." Not surprisingly, some try to do so, and some fudge. Even students think that the school year ends with the tests and that they no longer have to pay attention even though there may be many weeks of learning left in the school year.
Schools are monitored through CAPA — Collaborative Assessment and Planning for Achievement — which sends a team of experienced educators, district and school staff, representatives from higher education and DOE staff to review schools designated as low performing. They observe the classrooms and monitor the tests.
Moncur is at heart a poet — having self-published several booklets of poetry — so much of her language is poetical. There is a lot of dialog; some of this book could be performed as a play. Lovers of language will enjoy this book, as will those who simply want to know what it’s like to face a bunch of pre-teens in the classroom every day, while the State is looking over your shoulder.
©2010 Jo Freeman for SeniorWomen.com
