I tell people that I'm a teacher, and usually the first thing they ask me is "Wow, don't you hate the SOLs?"
Sometimes the first thing they ask me is "Wow, how do you not hate kids after that?", but that is another blog post altogether.
My answer to the first question is usually a resounding "NO!!" And it really irritates me how people who are not in the education field (and some who are) think that the SOLs suck. People, THEY DON'T. And here's why.
1. The SOLs are a standard. They are designed to make life easier by saying "here, this is the skill/idea/concept you should teach at some point in your academic year." That is all they say.
2. NOWHERE in the SOLs is it written "Thou must teacheth this way...." Nowhere. Period. It doesn't say it. So anyone who says they can't be creative because of the SOLs isn't doing it correctly. Either that or they were trying to teach underwater basketweaving and that got nixed by their administration because it's not an SOL. Friends, teaching to the SOL standards is not a bad thing. It means you are aligning your instruction to what the state says the kids must know, understand and be able to do. It doesn't say anywhere in the SOLs that you can't supplement with interesting information or concepts. That's ok too.
3. To reiterate, teaching to the SOL standards is a good thing. Teaching to SOL test is not. But teaching to ANY test is not the way to teach. Good teachers know this. Mediocre teachers think it's the easy way out. DO NOT BE THAT TEACHER.
4. The SOLs leave plenty of room for creativity. If you feel stiffled, it's not the SOLs, it's your districts pacing guide. And the VA Dept of Ed. has NOTHING to do with your county's pacing guide.
5. Using the SOLs as a jumping-off point is a great way to start. Think of them as the backbone of your teaching. Everything else can be muscle and tissue. That's what makes the body have form anyway. And that's what makes your instruction have form- the extras. They are important too. Align them with the standards, and you're golden.
6. Bottom line, the state REQUIRES that you teach them. Why bitch about it? They aren't going to go away. Yes, they change. Change is good. Embrace it. Think of it as an opportunity to start fresh.
Friends, this doesn't mean that I think the SOLs are the be-all-end-all. I don't. They are standards, they are imperfect and flawed. Guess what. So are teachers. You work around the flaws, you teach the big ideas and you align the standards in ways that suit you and your students. That's what good teachers do.
Yes, it's hard work. And yes, it might interrupt your Glee or American Idol time. Guess what. Deal with it. You signed a contract. Now give those kids the best that you can. The standards will be there to back you up.
And no. They don't suck.
Standardly yours,
Nay
I totally agree with you on this. I think people condemn what they don't understand and the majority of the people out there who criticize the SOL's simply don't understand why they are in place. I also think that there are teachers out there that "teach to the test" (which is a horrible practice...I had a couple of those back in the day myself) and that gives teachers like you a bad name. It's never a bad idea to set a standard, especially when it comes to educating our children.
ReplyDeleteCouldn't have said it better myself. My best friend Lisa, ladies and gentlemen!!
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