[etni] Re: The unfairness of logs
- From: "sbshai" <sbshai@xxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <rlewen@xxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Thu, 23 May 2013 00:15:00 +0300
This makes one look forward to retirement!
I doubt that the lit. program has affected teacher creativity (just as it
probably hasn't increased students' love of literature) in any appreciable
or significant way. That's because truly creative teachers don't need (or
like) to be told exactly how they should ignite their students' enjoyment of
literature, or heighten their thinking ability. Surely, they were doing
that long before HOTS was a mere flickering flame, and they'll be doing it
long after the program is no more than an ember.
Rivka's message actually corroborates a point I tried making in a previous
post : There are different kinds of creativity; some will use it for good,
while others ... And that's sadly as true of educators as it is for pupils.
But where I diverge from a respected colleague's view is here: Conscientious
teachers will work hard because they owe it to their students, not the
inspectorate.
The bottom line remains the same: Why waste valuable time that we can use to
plan creative lessons on debating the merits and demerits of what's largely
beyond our control?
Enough argument and accusation; let those who love the logs enjoy their
labor and desist from suspecting their colleagues of exclusively "teaching
for the exam" (one who's truly satisfied with his work feels no need to do
such a thing), while the second group (I'm referring to responsible
teachers, of course) continues to seek a better way to inspire their
students (a somewhat quixotic goal, considering the Bagrut requirements)!
And they all lived happily ever after ...
Batya
----- Original Message -----
From: "Rivka Lewenstein" <rlewen@xxxxxxxxx>
To: <avlynne@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
Cc: <etni@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Wednesday, 22 May, 2013 3:00 PM
Subject: [etni] Re: The unfairness of logs
> Avlynne,
> I think there are a few reasons:
>
> 1) I hate to say it, but there are probably a lot of exam teachers who are
> cutting corners (and I am saying this based on conversations I've had with
> teachers, not just my own assumptions) because they know that no one will
> check up on them. I don't know what percentage of teachers that is, but I
> have a feeling that it's quite significant. So kol hakavod to you for
> doing it the right way, but
>
> 2) Because the logs are the full Bagrut grade, I think that a lot of
> teachers have a heightened sense of responsibility for their students -
> with the exam, teachers can just shrug off students who aren't working,
> give them a low school (Magen) grade, and let them take their chances with
> the exam. With the log, teachers are the ones actually giving a grade, so
> they tend to work harder just to make sure everyone's actually doing what
> they should be. In a Jerusalem log teachers' meeting, Judie Siegel told of
> a teacher friend who actually drove to a student's house to pick up a
> post-reading task that the student had completed (late) for a poetry
> unit!!! (And just to be clear, she told us all to NEVER do that, or
> anything remotely similar.) So, no, I don't run after my students all day
> for their work, but I definitely do work harder and feel more pressure
> about making sure they do what they need to do than I would if I were
> teaching for the exam.
>
>
> 3) In my opinion, the fact that teachers know that the Ministry will be
> doing random sampling also makes them grade more carefully / double check
> themselves, because hey, no one wants to look bad to the inspectorate.
>
>
> 4) Last but not least, I believe that many of the teachers doing the log
> are preparing their own units / doing more than is required by the
> program, because the creative possibilities of the log tend to attract
> more creative teachers. That, too, is a lot of work.
>
> Now let me make it very clear. I am NOT saying that the exam is a cop-out,
> or that all the creative teachers do logs and exam teachers are lacking in
> creativity. Nor am I saying that people choose the exam in order to cheat
> the system. But I do think that it is easier to cheat the system when
> doing the exam.
>
>
> David, perhaps we could have an ETNI poll of exam teachers to find out how
> many are teaching and grading exactly according to Ministry
> specifications? My feeling is that it won't accurately reflect what
> happening out there, since the teachers on ETNI are usually more active
> and knowledgeable than those who've never heard of ETNI, but it could
> still be interesting to get a glimpse of what's going on out there.
>
> All the best,
> Rivka
>
>
>
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