Competition Stifles a Remarkable Student

My greatest regret is that I didn’t try hard enough in school. I always found a way to “get by” and do the bare minimum. This had a lot to do (as I look back) with the fact that I didn’t believe I could do anything extraordinary. I was average and didn’t have anything unique to offer. Where does this mentality come from? Definitely not from my parents, who always encouraged me to be an astronaut or the President. As I spend my summer days on Capitol Hill, observing the policy process, I continue to hear one word echo in education discussions – competition. This word is the anthem of my high school and college career. My entire existence has been rated on arbitrary standards. How well can I score on tests? Am I the best writer, do I have superb study skills? How do I compare to my peers? Who is the best? Of course I didn’t believe in myself, because I bought into this rating system that always reminded me I wasn’t good enough – the truth, there will always be someone better than me. I never realized how detrimental competition was in education until I began to reflect on this personal reality.

So, how has competition affected my life? Well…I didn’t try in fear of being out-done. I am not a competitor, I begged my swim coach to keep me on the J.V. team so I could avoid tough competition. I simply don’t like the feeling of being a loser, especially when I worked hard for my accomplishments. I subjected myself to mediocrity so I didn’t have to be told I wasn’t as good or not good enough. Competition promotes a hierarchy that separates the elite from the rejects. As an 18-year-old I had a fundamental problem with this culture, one plagued with the inability to see each individual’s uniqueness in the name of SAT, GPA and IQ.

As an educator I have learned a beautiful reality – children are unique. This is key to understanding why competition doesn’t work in education. Competition stifles uniqueness; it requires children to conform in order to be measured on a scale that determines opportunity and accomplishment. The truth however, education and competition can’t be interchangeable. Finnish children are not compared to their peers and standardized tests are not the determent of success. Students are praised for their unique qualities. The lie my competitive education instilled in me, despite my parent’s attempts, was that my unique qualities did not make me extraordinary, instead my test scores and the amount of A.P. scores determined my academic worth. Thank you competition for making me “average” when I was anything but. Thank you for constantly reminding me that I wasn’t “good enough” in comparison to my peers, who had higher test scores.

As I prepare to apply to universities like Columbia, Harvard and Stanford, these feelings of inadequacy flood too the surface. I begin to question whether I will have what it takes to compete against the candidates who are far more qualified and superior then me. I begin to doubt my chances even before I have tried, all in the name of competition. But, I have to remind myself (constantly) that my unique qualities and life experiences mean more than a test score (I hope) and my passion for education will shine through. Any program would be lucky to have my expertise and drive.

Look around you, everything is consumed by competition and determining the “best” from the not. Education is NOT a well-oiled business, simply because it is not a business. I think there is a place for competition, in the swimming pool, on the field in the business sector – not in education. Think about this for a minute…that achievement gap we work so hard to close may perhaps be a great example of the detrimental nature of competition in the classroom. If it weren’t for my loving parents who believe in my extraordinary qualities, that make me unique, I would have given up entirely. Not every child has that support system, and many get lost in the competitive fight for elite spots in education. Eventually they become another “average” faceless student who stops trying before they even start because they are unwilling or unable to play the standardization game.

Every child I teach reminds me of how beautiful the journey (not production) of education is. They remind me why each child should be cultivated into a unique individual with their own qualities to contribute. With that attitude every child has the opportunity to do extraordinary things in the world and excel in their own way.

**Disclaimer, I didn’t get into my preferred college because of my lack of effort. I blame no one for this outcome, but me. However, if we are telling children, at a young age, that their worth stems from a test score or extracurricular activities we are losing the point of education entirely. We are setting students up for a lack of interest in education. Here’s a thought, instead of ranking our students and creating an elite few, let’s work with every student to make them extraordinary in their passions and future goals. Isn’t that what the process of education and knowledge is all about?

Call me an idealist, but I refuse to believe that God made any child anything less than special and remarkable, and with effort and the desire to succeed every one of my students can accomplish great things! 

My Heroes - Special Educators

To the unsung heroes of teaching, special educators. Without you, us general education teachers would be lost, uninvested and disconnected from our school's most precious and needy students. Without your passion and drive our public schools would be incapable of differentiation and individualized instruction. I thank you from the bottom of my heart and admire your desire to serve our most needy students. 

Rhetorical Warfare

Last week I posed the question, “What makes a teacher highly qualified?” The answer seems simple enough...someone with the proper background education and certifications, who continues their growth and enrichment of the profession. For teachers the answer is simple, highly qualified is reserved for professionals who have mastered their art. Like any career profession someone who is highly qualified in his/her craft have been 1) doing it for a long time and 2) built an expansive resume of certifications, credentials experience and knowledge.

Simple enough, right? Not so for our policy counterparts in Rayburn and Dirksen. Capitol Hill is struggling to understand and define these two simple words, “Highly Qualified.”

A little history…

When No Child Left Behind became effective in January 2002 it required all American public school classrooms to have a teacher who is “highly qualified.” This requirement was to be fully executed by the end of the 2005-06 school year. Seems easy, right? It makes sense, to have all students proficient in reading and math they must benefit from highly trained and qualified educators. Minor problem…how do we (NCLB drafters) define those two words? What do we focus on? The number of years in school, like medical residencies? Or rather, the program a person graduates from and their GPA, like law school? Does a teacher automatically gain the title upon the completion of a certain amount of years in teaching? Is it a certain number of proficient teacher evaluations?

I did some rummaging through the handy-dandy World Wide Web and came across the Secretary of Education, Rod Paige’s 2002 Annual Report, focusing on Highly Qualified Teachers. Paige explained highly qualified teachers as:

“As part of the new law, Congress defines highly qualified teachers as those who not only possess full state certification but also have solid content knowledge of the subjects they teach. For example, beginning Fall 2002, all new elementary school teachers will have to pass tests in subject knowledge and teaching skills in math, reading and writing, while new middle and high school teachers must pass rigorous subject-matter tests or have the equivalent of an undergraduate major, graduate degree or advanced certification in their respective fields. As this report details, research suggests teachers with strong academic backgrounds in their subjects are more likely to boost student performance.”

That makes sense, so what’s the big deal on the Hill? Why are we even having this discussion? It is safe to say that all teachers would agree with this requirement. It helps to set rigorous standards to weed out the weak or those not truly invested. 

A little more history…

One of the biggest questions raised from the definition of “highly qualified” was whether an alternative certification program meets the standard. The Bush administration essentially said yes and issued a regulation making it so. Thus, Congress approved language in a spending bill that would ultimately allow teachers in alternative certification programs to count as “highly qualified” as long as they were working toward certification and part of a recognized program (such as TFA). This provision was set to expire at the end of the 2012-13 school year. The big issue for many education groups is the extension of this clause, which organizations, such as TFA, want to lengthen (the House of Representatives did, extending it for 2 more years).

I was a Teach For America Corps Member. I am forever grateful that this program offered me a way to teach in an urban classroom and obtain a cost-effective credential at a prestigious school. I was attracted to its ability to make the teaching profession rigorous and selective. I liked the idea of being one of the “chosen few” that had the “privilege” and opportunity to make a social impact in my local community. In my school there were far too many vacancies and not enough “highly qualified” teachers. In fact, we had a sizable portion of staff that were long-term subs or in alternative certification programs too. Teach for America cultivated my resilience and perseverance. It gave me front-line experience that not many teachers, even traditionally educated, can obtain. I believe in the mission of TFA and its desire to positively improve the public education infrastructure.

However, to say I was a “highly qualified” teacher in my first (or even second) year of teaching is ridiculous. I, the corps member, will openly admit that my first year class of kids did not benefit from my teaching abilities. They benefited from my ability to build relationships and work relentlessly to produce success on some level. They benefited from a teacher who was committed for an entire year and who was working towards a credential. None of these things however, truly capture the science of teaching. I had no idea how to approach special education. I was not equipped for behavior management or reading recovery. I was inept on so many levels and refuse to take the title of “highly qualified.” I was about as qualified for teaching as I was for heart surgery. The hands-on experience and real-life practice has made me a better practitioner in teaching. Even now, 5 years deep, I still question if I am “highly qualified.”

Do I think alternative certification teachers should be labeled as highly qualified? No. Do I think that should keep them from teaching in a high needs area if the only other option is a substitute? No again. My belief is this, if I was the only good and stable option for my kids, then great! I am the most qualified for that situation. I am not a competitor of a traditionally trained educator I am a supplement when there is only lesser options. There is a difference between a doctor and a resident. The titles represent level of training. It is impractical and detrimental to compare the two as though they are on the same level professionally.

This is where I disagree with TFA and many other organizations and policymakers. In an action alert this was stated:

“The most rigorous independent studies have demonstrated that Teach For America corps members outperform non- Teach For America teachers (including veteran teachers) in multiple subjects and grade levels.”

Correction, if it weren’t for those “non” TFA teachers I wouldn’t be a successful educator today. My ability to impact change and achieve significant gains came from the community of educators around me who were more experienced and effective, sharing their resources. I have a fundamental problem with this fight and you should too. This is not about providing children with the best teacher, it’s about rhetoric, and in the end it becomes an “us” against “them” battle. For me, those are fighting words. A highly qualified teacher is one who has spent years perfecting their craft and working personally and professionally to reflect and improve. Unfortunately an alternatively certified teacher does not have those qualities and expertise, and I refuse to group myself with that level of experience and commitment. TFA and organizations alike shouldn’t be competing they should be supplementing and supporting.

I know it’s easy for me to say now that I’ve done TFA and never faced that adversity, but entrusting me with a classroom after 5 weeks of training not only did a disservice to me as an educator but to the community I was serving too. If it weren’t for my highly qualified counterparts I wouldn’t have learned the way of the land and developed the expertise I now have.

I would implore you to take a stand in this. I know everyone won’t agree with my view and I am okay with that. It’s imperative that you figure out what the facts are and decide what you believe in, because this is will impact the nature of education in the future to come. At the end of the day I am a Finnish-at-heart. Instead of looking to competition as the catalyst for change, we need to adopt a philosophy of collaboration and abandon this “highly qualified” nonsense. Then, we would actually be focusing on creating an army of career professionals who only gain a title of “highly qualified” when they’ve mastered their craft. I encourage your opinions and perspectives.

What makes YOU a QUALIFIED Teacher?

What makes a teacher HIGHLY qualified? I am interested in hearing your ideas, as this is a controversial topic on the Hill. I will explain more after I hear your responses.

The root of my question comes from this fact: Currently, any person who HAS been certified or IS in the process of obtaining certification is considered Highly Qualified. If this is the reality in which our education system functions what does it mean?  What makes a teacher qualified to begin with?


Thank you for the insights! I look forward to hearing your opinions on this topic. 

Teacher? What is that exactly?

Originally Written on March 8, 2012

In an effort to give you some insight into the daily life of a teacher, I have taken it upon myself to draft an average daily timeline, that maps out ALL the things teachers do in a day. To my teaching comrades, if you’d like to add something, please feel free to leave a comment; collaboration is crucial to a successful learning environment!

8:15 – Arrive at school. Check email, finalize the day’s lesson plans & make sure my resources (i.e. computers) are in good working order. (Note: If my “resources” are experiencing difficulties, then I must have a back-up plan in place so students don’t lose valuable academic time. What does that mean for a technology teacher? Let me know when you have that answer).

8:35 – Attend a meeting (on what you ask? Well…lots of wonderful things – Student behavior, school behavior system, team powwow, etc.).

9:15 – Morning duty (Adults have to be strategically placed throughout school hallways and doors to ensure kids are walking safely to class and not hitting, running, sliding, sledding, or rolling their way down the halls).

9:30 – School officially begins. Class #1, 50 minutes of third grade content. Today I am teaching students how to use a website that gives information about all the cultures of the world. As I introduce today’s objective I stop and wait for one of my “friends” who is ripping a piece of paper into tiny little pieces. “I need for you to put that away.” Ok…back on track. I introduce the lesson, we have a discussion about our assignment and students get their laptops. “Mrs. Winchester, how do I log in again?” I am stunned speechless (that never happens to me), We have 80 days left of school and you can’t remember how to log in? “Mrs. Winchester, he hit me.” “Why did he hit you?” “I don’t know…” Thanks to my dad’s long reign as a police officer, I pull out my detective tool kit to deal with the hitting issue at hand. Who would have ever thought (not me) that I'd be honing policing skills as an elementary teacher? Another hat for the resume! 

10:30 – I transition from 3^rd grade and take my planning break. During this time I am stopped by 5 different people in my building asking various computer-related questions. “Why can’t I hear any sound on my computer? Amiee, is my computer broken?” “Well..” I counter, “Have you tried turning up your volume?” The heavens open up, and crisis averted. Finally, I make it back to my office and begin grading papers for my upcoming 5^th grade class. Since I teach four 5^th grade classes, I have 130 papers to look at….Yes, I start to see a new alphabetical order, my brain starts to hurt.

11:30 – Here I go…Onto 5^th grade. Today we are finishing up our posters on the environment. “Mrs. Winchester, I like your shirt,” one student says, as I walk to the front of the classroom. I smile, thank her for the kind compliment and let her know that her shoes are much cooler. I think to myself, this is why I teach, because kids can be so cool. I joke around with my “friend” who struggles to stay focused. We talk about Kobe Bryant and how Mrs. Winchester is cooler than the Lakers (this is fact). I take command of my class, and we begin. I stop, kids are talking. I stop, kids are twirling in their seats. I stop, one kid is calling another names. There is a trend, I am constantly stopping my lesson and for what? I channel the PD I have had on behavioral research and realize I need to give more positive reinforcement. Because, after all, punishment = pain. I say, “Billy I appreciate you taking this seriously and listening to my directions.” Billy feels validated, the rest of the class doesn’t care. So I try my approach, “Class, if we can’t get it together, we can’t be successful at our work, and we’ll use paper and pencils instead.” There we go, back on track. Now, let’s learn…

12:30 – I say goodbye to my quirky fifth graders and transition over to 2^nd grade. Oh No! The Internet isn’t working. My entire lesson, all Internet based, is a bust. I pull plan B out of my pocket, we explore the fabulous world of Google Earth. The kids are eating this up, yet I am stressed. What if my principal walks in and wants to see the objectives? How do I explain to her that I had this awesome lesson on community service workers, but because the Internet was down, I couldn’t teach it today? How do I explain to her that my Plan B, while completely deviated from the original plan is still enriching and engaging? All she will see is no objective written on the board.

1:30 – Onward…I travel to the cute and sometimes slimy Kindergartners. I am bombarded by two of my tiny “friends” who need their shoes tied. Another wants to give me a detailed description of what she had for lunch. I love this age, the kids are so goofy and insightful, but I could do without the runny noses and slimy fingers. Today we are learning about shapes. When I ask a question all their hands shoot up. Some can barely contain their excitement for knowing the answer and call it out. One of my “friends” is rolling around on the carpet, while making dog noises. While I’m amused, I’m also exhausted. I have spent the last 3 hours teaching, not to mention transitioning, improvising, acting, moderating, commanding. I am tired. My brain isn’t functioning correctly. The “ums” are infiltrating my speech. I spend my time helping students find letters on the keyboard and reminding them that their too loud, because their trying to scream over the maxed out volume in their headphones. Finally, it’s over…

2:30 – I have a break. The last hour of the day, I will bask in the quiet of my desk. I will turn off the lights, check my email and be completely dead to the world. Of course I now need to do more grading or work on a project I promised a teacher I’d finish today. I need to eat my lunch and hydrate, in hopes of getting rid of this massive headache. The end of the day doesn’t seem to come quick enough. I wanted to go to the gym after work, but I have nothing left. I am physically and mentally drained. I just want to go home and stare at a wall. 

3:30 – The day isn’t over…yet. I still have carpool duty. Time to get all the kids into the right car and home in time for some outside activity. Almost….there…

4:10 – The end of the day has arrived. Contrary to popular belief, teachers still have their own responsibilities outside of the 27 they deal with each day. So…I gather my things and start to think of the dinner I will cook, the cleaning that I’ve neglected and the husband and dog at home I need to invest time and energy into also. Where will it come from, I ask. I file away today’s happenings and clean the slate to get ready for it all to happen again tomorrow. 

Where the Journey Starts

Originally written on March 7, 2012.

My brain hurts; I blame it on education. It’s the beginning of March and I am nose deep in education policy – I can only imagine what it will be like when I am actually working at PEN. I am reading every article, brief, newspaper clipping…you get the point. I have spent the last four years teaching kids, I am an expert in that. But, I feel completely inadequate and lost when it comes to policy. It seems like a waste to have spent $80,000 for my college degree and have no prior knowledge on how this tangled, complicated policy world works. I guess my mom was right, I actually have to attend my classes to gain something from it…seed planted, message received.

What are some things I have learned through all of my reading, you ask? Well…I’ll list a few below:

1.   Lyndon B. Johnson was the first president to pass legislation that drastically changed the education climate of our country (known as ESEA).

2.   Much of our education debate is based on party lines (no surprise there), and the federal government’s role.

3. Education policy is much more complicated than what I originally predicted.

4. Few Education Policy Makers actually were educators...in public schools...CRAZY!

As I prepare myself for what is to come this summer, I can’t help but feel overwhelmed by the “hot mess” that is our education system. Even more, I can’t help but feel the desire to “school” (no pun intended) Capitol Hill who can’t even begin to understand to how their policy decisions affect me and my peers.

On a different note, I met…err was digitally introduced to my fellow intern buddy this afternoon. She is still an undergrad (I feel old) and I am excited to learn more from her perspective and experience. Nice to know I'll have an impressionable buddy (maybe?) who can kick me when I'm too cynical and depressing. 

So, here I am…a school teacher, ready to make some waves on the Hill in the name of enlightenment. I lack a law degree, or any business experience. It seems that those are the prevailing attributes of our country’s leaders.

I pray for focus and determination. I will face adversity never experienced before. I will definitely feel defeated frequently. But, If I have learned one thing from my mom’s seedlings (Thanks Mom!) It’s that adversity only makes the best leaders. And, If I continue to pull from the wisdom I’ve been given by God, I know that what doors He opens, He will bless. Here is to a great journey, one that will test my strength, beliefs and intelligence on so many levels. And…here’s to the true heroes in our country – the teachers. The ones who work tirelessly, regardless of the criticism, chastising and lack of appreciation. It is because of you all that I feel the passion and drive to put myself out there and demand the respect and valor you deserve!

Okay, I’ll get off my soap box now,

Let the fun begin…