@TeachThought Days 16 and 17: Teacher Superpower/Today's Most Challenging Educational Issue

***I am combining yesterday and today's blog posts--being a Mom took precedence yesterday***
 
Today's (September 16th) reflection is to think about a superpower I would want to have for my classroom. There are several that would benefit me (cloning myself comes to mind) but my most pressing challenge in my classroom this year is my inability to communicate well with my non-native speakers. I would therefore like to be able to speak many languages.
 
This would enable me to help my ELL students navigate US History, especially since they have little to no prior knowledge of US History to draw from. The academic language is often intangible, especially when discussing politics and government/civics. If I would be able to explain the nuances of government to my students they would have a much easier time grasping the academic content.
 
 
Day 17: The Most Challenge Issue in Education Today
I feel the most challenging issue is standardized testing. The idea is very important: we should be evaluating students on standards--it's just being pushed to the point of ineffectiveness. I hope that the pendulum has swung enough that we will now be seeing some pull-back. My state tests a lot but not nearly to the level of other states. I am hoping for moderation to prevail soon.

 

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