Bear with me as I explain the back story real quick...
Just under two weeks ago, we received the results of the State of Texas End of Course exam scores for our students. As an Algebra I teacher, my students have to take an EOC exam. If they do not pass, they must retake the test every few months until they finally pass or they can not graduate. (I have my own frustrations with the entire education system and standardized testing, but that has nothing to do with this post, so let's just move past that.)
When the scores came in, I pulled up my students names by class period and read through each one. I looked at each name, then the result: "satisfactory" or "unsatisfactory," and then how many questions they got correct (this gave me an idea of how far each student was above or below the magic number to pass). I was excited to see that most of my students passed and I was glad for them. Some students I knew had worked very hard and some had never passed a state test before (literally ever, in all elementary and junior high they never passed a state math test), so when I saw "satisfactory" next to their name, I was filled with joy. For one student, I immediately called his mom because I knew that she'd be so excited. When I told her son, his excitement was worth every minute of frustration.
On the other side, there were those that said "unsatisfactory." Most I had expected. Some because the student had started out so far behind that I knew what to expect. Others, because they didn't even try on the most basic of assignment, so how could they pass a cumulative test. And, of course, there were those few surprises; the ones that I had not doubted but for some reason they weren't successful. It's frustrating but part of life. I can't say that any of them passed because they tried hard and just didn't understand. In fact, each of them could look back at their year and make specific choices that can change their future. They just have to decide.
So, on Thursday of this week, one of my colleagues congratulated me on my "scores" and I didn't know what he was talking about. Again on Friday, another colleague came to my room specifically to congratulate me on my "scores." My supervisor also gave me some kudos. Each time they congratulated me, I had to ask "for what?" I found out that I had the second highest passing rate of all the teachers at our campus (the first teacher that congratulated me has been the long-standing highest ranked teacher in passing rates for quite some time and he maintains that title) :). My passing rate was even higher than the district rate (we have 7 high schools) and the state passing rate. I suppose that's very exciting but here's the lesson:
When I heard about this high passing rate, I was taken by surprise because I had not taken the time to calculate the percent of students who passed. I had focused completely on looking at each student's scores. I was too busy looking at the individuals and going over in my brain what might have made the difference for those few that didn't pass. Of course, none of this was on purpose. I didn't take a stance saying that I wasn't worried about pass or fail rates; that this wasn't about numbers. For some reason, it just never occurred to me to calculate the percentage. I'm sure it would have come to mind some day, but for the time, it hadn't.
I'm very glad to know that most of my students passed, but the sad thing is that my "great" passing rate was only 81%. That certainly doesn't cut it if we're going to say that "no child is left behind."
When the second teacher came to congratulate me, he thanked me for my presence in all of our planning meetings. He said that many times he blew off what I was saying because he thought it seemed "elementary." But, after realizing that most of his students who didn't pass the test, were the low performing students who struggled, he realized that those "elementary" things matter. He felt that he would be a better teacher next year because of working with me this year.
He realized, that instead of being lazy, maybe those students are just lost in a class that's beyond their level of understanding. The work really is too difficult for them, so they've given up. From my example, he learned that we can push the kids who want a challenge, while also including the "elementary" things that the lower level kids need. There are so many reasons that a student could have gaps in their learning...maybe they moved around a lot and different districts cover things in different orders, maybe they had a rough year when something tragic happened, maybe they just didn't get it the first time, and so on and so on. (And , YES, some of them are going through a time of laziness and they'll have to learn the hard way.) No matter what the reason is, we can't perpetuate the problem. We have to meet people where they are and move forward.
If you're in education, I encourage you to not look at the numbers, but to look at the students. The relationship and the investment in each child will be so rewarding, and, at the end of the day, the numbers will be there.
If you're not in education, the same rule still applies. If you spend all your time looking at the sales reports, the budgets, the performance data, etc... you will miss the opportunity to look at the people to whom you should be connecting. Over and over again, we see that the true winners are the ones that kept their priorities on relationships-the people in their lives. All of the other details will fall into place when we remember to take care of each other.
And, if something doesn't fall into place, we'll have each other to get through the struggles. ;)
Just under two weeks ago, we received the results of the State of Texas End of Course exam scores for our students. As an Algebra I teacher, my students have to take an EOC exam. If they do not pass, they must retake the test every few months until they finally pass or they can not graduate. (I have my own frustrations with the entire education system and standardized testing, but that has nothing to do with this post, so let's just move past that.)
When the scores came in, I pulled up my students names by class period and read through each one. I looked at each name, then the result: "satisfactory" or "unsatisfactory," and then how many questions they got correct (this gave me an idea of how far each student was above or below the magic number to pass). I was excited to see that most of my students passed and I was glad for them. Some students I knew had worked very hard and some had never passed a state test before (literally ever, in all elementary and junior high they never passed a state math test), so when I saw "satisfactory" next to their name, I was filled with joy. For one student, I immediately called his mom because I knew that she'd be so excited. When I told her son, his excitement was worth every minute of frustration.
On the other side, there were those that said "unsatisfactory." Most I had expected. Some because the student had started out so far behind that I knew what to expect. Others, because they didn't even try on the most basic of assignment, so how could they pass a cumulative test. And, of course, there were those few surprises; the ones that I had not doubted but for some reason they weren't successful. It's frustrating but part of life. I can't say that any of them passed because they tried hard and just didn't understand. In fact, each of them could look back at their year and make specific choices that can change their future. They just have to decide.
So, on Thursday of this week, one of my colleagues congratulated me on my "scores" and I didn't know what he was talking about. Again on Friday, another colleague came to my room specifically to congratulate me on my "scores." My supervisor also gave me some kudos. Each time they congratulated me, I had to ask "for what?" I found out that I had the second highest passing rate of all the teachers at our campus (the first teacher that congratulated me has been the long-standing highest ranked teacher in passing rates for quite some time and he maintains that title) :). My passing rate was even higher than the district rate (we have 7 high schools) and the state passing rate. I suppose that's very exciting but here's the lesson:
When I heard about this high passing rate, I was taken by surprise because I had not taken the time to calculate the percent of students who passed. I had focused completely on looking at each student's scores. I was too busy looking at the individuals and going over in my brain what might have made the difference for those few that didn't pass. Of course, none of this was on purpose. I didn't take a stance saying that I wasn't worried about pass or fail rates; that this wasn't about numbers. For some reason, it just never occurred to me to calculate the percentage. I'm sure it would have come to mind some day, but for the time, it hadn't.
I'm very glad to know that most of my students passed, but the sad thing is that my "great" passing rate was only 81%. That certainly doesn't cut it if we're going to say that "no child is left behind."
When the second teacher came to congratulate me, he thanked me for my presence in all of our planning meetings. He said that many times he blew off what I was saying because he thought it seemed "elementary." But, after realizing that most of his students who didn't pass the test, were the low performing students who struggled, he realized that those "elementary" things matter. He felt that he would be a better teacher next year because of working with me this year.
He realized, that instead of being lazy, maybe those students are just lost in a class that's beyond their level of understanding. The work really is too difficult for them, so they've given up. From my example, he learned that we can push the kids who want a challenge, while also including the "elementary" things that the lower level kids need. There are so many reasons that a student could have gaps in their learning...maybe they moved around a lot and different districts cover things in different orders, maybe they had a rough year when something tragic happened, maybe they just didn't get it the first time, and so on and so on. (And , YES, some of them are going through a time of laziness and they'll have to learn the hard way.) No matter what the reason is, we can't perpetuate the problem. We have to meet people where they are and move forward.
If you're in education, I encourage you to not look at the numbers, but to look at the students. The relationship and the investment in each child will be so rewarding, and, at the end of the day, the numbers will be there.
If you're not in education, the same rule still applies. If you spend all your time looking at the sales reports, the budgets, the performance data, etc... you will miss the opportunity to look at the people to whom you should be connecting. Over and over again, we see that the true winners are the ones that kept their priorities on relationships-the people in their lives. All of the other details will fall into place when we remember to take care of each other.
And, if something doesn't fall into place, we'll have each other to get through the struggles. ;)
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