The Mind-Boggling Abilities of Educational Blogging

Educational blogging provides an outlet for teachers to share their concerns, recommendations, philosophies, and methods inside the classroom with students, parents, and other educators. It can also become a space for self-expression and for teachers to share themselves in contexts outside of school life. Educational blogs have been just one tool that has helped create vital teaching communities in the midst of large turnover rates and teaching burnout, most specifically in recent years.

Three women collaborating while using technology. 
Photo by Christina Morillo.

Hur et. al writes in “Why are they leaving? Understanding Associations between early childhood program policies and teacher turnover rates” that, according to their study, some of the main reasons that teacher turnover is currently so high are the lack of “wage, benefit, and teacher support policies” (1). While blogs are not specifically highlighted as a form of teacher support polices in this article, the article does write that “there is also a strong link between support for teachers’ professional development and teacher retention. Schools that offer more professional development and networking opportunities enjoy lower rates of teacher turnover” (Hur et. al 5).  The availability of teaching theories, strategies, methods, lesson plans, philosophies and more that can (and often are) included in teaching blogs mark many of these ‘boxes’ of professional development and networking, just on a more casual (and thus, more accessible) level. With the stakes lower and teachers more passionate on their own platforms, blogging may provide an even bigger impact that rigid and uber-formal professional development training.

Because educational blogging provides so many opportunities for teachers to learn from each other in terms of available resources, teaching practices, and theories, I myself was able to learn from my peers’ teaching blogs and find content that I would like to incorporate into my future classroom. Corinne Kamien’s “Teaching the Whole Child” blog post informed me with more information on how to create an environment where I can teach the ‘whole child’ in my classroom, referencing one of many popular educational psychological theories. According to Kamien, the Whole Child Approach reminds instructors that “students are individuals, and deserve to be treated with respect, understanding, and caring for all aspects of their life (academic and nonacademic).” By providing a “sense of routine coupled with an understanding, comfortable environment,” I can make my classroom a place where are encouraged to be and present their whole selves (Kamien). In Jackson Scott’s “Example #1 of Uses of technology in the Social Studies Classroom: Podcasts,” I was able to learn how other educators are incorporating a fairly new form of media appropriately into their classrooms and the positive impact these new resources can have in a classroom. Scott describes the listening to and making of podcasts by students as a “great and creative way for students to also further their education.” While Scott specifically writes about podcasts in a social studies classroom, his implementations can be spread to many other subjects, including mine with English as a Second Language (ESL). Students can use podcasts to summarize, make content for each other to later be quizzed on, and allow the students to become active participants in each other’s learning. Finally, Eden Marose’s impassioned “The Epidemic of Charter Schools: A Saga, Business and Politics” informs teachers on the downfalls of many charter schools, an issue that has become more apparent in recent years for the teaching sector. Marose warns that charter schools “excessively underserve low-income and black and brown students”, indirectly “run for profit benefit”, and “have only further politicized education.” Marose’s article highlights the advantages and disadvantages of charter schools, a blog post that educators could debate about. More importantly, however, this blog post allows future educator Marose an outlet to express her voice on key issues that affect her and her teaching peers. All of these different yet interesting examples of educational blogging  show just how diverse, informative, inspirational, and effective blogging can be for teachers.

While my experience with blogging myself has been short, I have been engaged with both official and unofficial (for example, blogs based around social media like Instagram) educational and non-educational blogs for years now. I enjoy seeing blogs as a way to express, share resources, and inspire creativity. This is no different for educational blogs, and I support the ability for teachers to safely share their experience with one another and the world. Although I am unsure if I will continue my educational blog, I plan to continue my support of others interested in doing this. 

Changing the Standard of Standardized Testing

Standardized testing has been a topic for debate for years, even decades. Especially today, with teaching shortages, high turnover, burnout, and more, teachers themselves are calling for a limitation or even abolishment of annual state-wide testing. The complaints filing in do not stop at educators. According to interviews conducted and explained in "Family Experiences with Standardized Assessments Leading to Participation in the Opt Out Movement" by Christy Lee Evans, parental input on standardized assessment generally believes that "too much testing is going on in American schools, testing is having negative effects on teachers and children, schools and systems are not well-prepared to respond to families who wish to opt out, and parents support their own teachers and/or schools, even when they believe education in general is on the wrong track" (Evans). The Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program (TCAP) is made up of TN Ready exams for grades 3-8, End-of-Course Assessments for specific subject areas for high school students, MSAA and TCAP-Alt for students with disabilities, ACESS for English Learners, college entrance exam (either ACT or SAT) for high school students, and NAEP for 4th, 8th, and 12th grade students. A Tennessee student who is non-disabled, a native English speaker, and college bound student will have taken approximately 58 state-required standardized tests by graduation (not counting subparts of these tests, which may divide a single test into multiple days of testing). For ESL students, the amount of testing only grows because these students are required to take the multi-day World-Class Instructional Design and Assessment (WIDA) test. 

Students taking a test at the University of Vienna in 2005.

As if the amount of standardized testing wasn't already overwhelmingly large, ESL students are subject to more testing than the average student because they are subject to WIDA testing to assess their English language learning progress. I argue if all Tennessee students are required to take these standardized tests, ESL students should be provided translation services when appropriate (for example, in math, science, and social studies tests because having a certain fluency of English is expected for students to complete the test). If students aren't given these translation services when appropriate, their test results are dramatically skewed because many students simply guess on each question because they don't understand the material. The student may know how to multiply or divide, but not understand that the question is asking them to do so. The student may understand the process of photosynthesis, but not know how to express it using English vocabulary. Bad test results can produce consequences to teachers and schools, resulting in reduced funding. These invalid test results due to the lack of translation services are harming everyone and wasting time that could be put toward actually learning content or improving their English language acquisition. I argue that translation services should be seriously considered for standardized testing or that parents of ESL students be provided more "opt out" options. Some experts like Ibram X. Kendi claim that standardized testing is racist and should be eliminated on that basis. Ibram explains in his testimony to the Boston Coalition for Education Equality that "Standardized tests have become the most effective racist weapon ever devised to objectively degrade Black and Brown minds and legally exclude their bodies from prestigious schools" (Kendi). However, since I do not see an end to standardized testing coming any time soon, I call for a change in how ESL students are tested and how their test results are compared to native English speaking students, creating unfair disadvantages. Standardized testing in general is created to observe how well students are able to learn content, not necessarily how well a student can understand English. 

Pressures to Assimilate in American School Culture

American school culture is shown time and time again in movies and TV shows as having a reputation of being scary, aggressive, and often alienating. While these nightmarish depictions are often overstated for dramatic effect on the big screen, these conditions can be terrifyingly real for immigrant and child-of-immigrant students. The pressure to fit in with peers is something that most students feel and relate to. However, many ESL students have already been labelled as "outsiders" either by the color of their skin or the accent of their voice, compounding the effects of offensive insults, passive aggressiveness, and feelings of isolation. Assimilation is defined as "the process whereby individuals or groups of differing ethnic heritage are absorbed into the dominant culture of a society" (Britannica). By acknowledging the pressure to assimilate in American schools and how damaging these pressures and expectations can be, teachers of all subjects can be aware and even possibly make small - yet intentional - steps in their speech, demeanor, and attitude toward ESL students, making them more comfortable and more likely to succeed. 

More teachers, especially those who aren't primarily ESL teachers, should seek ways to make their students of different cultures more comfortable in the classroom by acknowledging and encouraging diversity, even in simple and small doses. There is still the question: why should teachers care? Well, for one, teachers generally care about their students as imperfect and growing humans who need guidance and encouragement. Great teachers fulfill the need to not only teach academic content, but also fortify their students with emotional support in places where a student may be struggling mentally or emotionally. On the other hand, students who feel more comfortable (like when they don't feel the constant need to mask or code switch in the classroom) can learn more efficiently and focus all of their energy on absorbing the material. The term 'code switch' refers to processes of "shifting from one linguistic code (a language or dialect) to another, depending on the social context or conversational setting" (Britannica). While code switching in itself isn't bad, pressure to do so out of fear of discrimination is. Trinity College (Hartford, CT) student Tina Zhu writes in "Public Schools in the Twentieth Century: The 'Melting Pot' for Immigrants" that pressures to assimilate have been present all throughout history. One the most apparent instances of this appears in the 20th century under President Theodore Roosevelt who encouraged "the political and generalized view of the melting pot metaphor" that "created a trend of completely fading new immigrant's culture and Americanizing immigrants..." Zhu continues by acknowledging that "schools [were] one the vital 'tools' that many advocates promoted to 'melt' the immigrants..." While these strong and forcible ideas are (for the most part) a thing of the past, their history still haunts many American classrooms. A limited yet practical list of ways for instructors to lessen the pressure of assimilation on their ESL students is to...

(1) not belittle students when they speak in their native language in casual conversations
(2) avoid assumptions (see Stop Assuming What Your Students Know: A Biography)
(3) ask simple (not too personal) questions about a students past experience in a subject to gauge where their knowledge is in comparison to their American peers in order to supplement their learning when necessary
(4) gives students time to translate when needed
(5) give freedom and flexibility when possible
(6) compare and contrast the pros and cons of teaching methods in other cultures rather than forcing the idea that Americanized instruction is the only right answer
(7) encourage teamwork and community regardless of demographic differences in all areas of your classroom and teaching space. 

Stop Assuming What Your Students Know: A Biography

Both inside and outside English as a Second Language (ESL) classrooms, ESL students are constantly stereotyped and their knowledge of something (or lack thereof) is assumed. For example, there are many instances where ESL high school students' math knowledge is assumed to be at a higher or lower level than it actually is. Math is only one of numerous subjects where these assumptions occur. Geography and funding, even within the same country or region, can drastically change the level of education a student receives before moving to the United States. A 6th grade education in Mexico, looks very different than a 6th grade education in Ukraine, Uzbekistan, or the Philippines. Other countries have different expectations for different age groups when it comes to education systems. This all seems obvious, but often both ESL teachers and teachers of different subjects assume a student does or does not know something solely on what country they are from or what native language they speak. For those who aren't ESL instructors or don't interact often with ESL students, the concept of 'assumicide,' as coined by Dr. Anita Archer and referenced in "3 Assumptions Teachers Should Avoid," can also affect students who aren't a part of the ESL community. "Assumicide" can harm those students who may not remember concepts or never learned them in the first place due to a variety of factors (and issues) concerning the education system. 

Young Asian students looking toward the front
of the classroom with interest

As I have tutored and observed inside ESL classrooms as both a high school and college student, I constantly find myself asking students who I help what their background on certain subjects are because each student is at a different level. Some students learned exponents in their home countries. Others didn't. Some students learned terms like 'simile', 'metaphor', and 'hyperbole' is their native county. Others didn't. Assuming a student is already familiar with certain terms, even when translated to their native language, is a dangerous and often unhelpful game that many teachers play. This is often why translation services for assignments often aren't sufficient on their own. You can translate exponent to exponente or ekspozan or kielelezo all day, but unless a student understands the concept, that translation is empty in purpose. You can translate an English assignment asking students to identify different uses of figurative language to a native language that students can understand, but if that student doesn't understand what figurative language is, the assignment serves them no other purpose than frustration, confusion, and often times cheating in order to complete the assignment. The same concept is applicable for assuming lack of knowledge. Many students' foreign educations are extensive and perhaps even more advanced than American standards. Automatically assuming a student from a foreign country does not know what a 'theme' or 'biology' or 'World War II' means can be seen a racist and alienating. In order for teachers to avoid offending their students and contribute most effectively to increasing their education, I encourage teachers to be more transparent and up-front about their questions of background knowledge and context when helping with and creating new assignments. Additionally, translation is not always (and, in fact, most times not) a helpful accommodation without additional modification to student level needs. Most importantly, the most efficient and effective way to understand your students' backgrounds on topics covered in class is to (wait for it) ask them! This will save you time and energy while taking the pressure and shame away from students.