I agree with Miller514, the time constraints for teachers are tremendous. I teach over 500 students a week - though it is a “fun” subject, art, I take my vocation seriously. I prep, plan, engage, teach, have formative assessments and summative assessments for all of those students. I photograph, edit and upload their work to an online portfolio site (over 4,000 photos this year), in addition to keeping parents apprised of learning. I lug heavy bags of clay, load and unload the kiln, print the names of each child on their clay (they can’t do it well) - I love teaching art, but it is a LOT of hard work. I am in my classroom until at least 5:00 most days, and edit/upload art/type students’ responses/go over assessments in the evening.
In one second grade classroom of 28 students, 4 are on behavior plans who need preferential seating, 5 are on 504’s, and 4 are on IEP’s, and all need to be challenged with differentiation for different abilities. That is one class out of my 26 per week. Parents will write in that they don’t want their child seating next to a certain child, disruptive students will have parents excuse their behavior - and I have excellent management skills. Also, there are constantly new Federal and State mandates. I feel as if good teaching is being ground down in the face of the new never-ending requirements. I can think of at least 6 new major requirements in the past year. I’ve also been asked to incorporate writing and math as much as possible into art class. Each child has only 30 art classes a year. Do you think that they want to spend those classes writing? I have them write artist statements, and do incorporate some math, but honestly, when the Common Core ASSUMES that children entering kindergarten already know their shapes (and while I am sure that the parents on College Confidential are thoughtful about this, I assure you that there are many, many parents who are not) there is a problem. Many children do not attend preschool, and many parents believe that their children will learn in school. They do not perceive of themselves as the primary teacher of their child. Instead of speaking with their children, enlarging their vocabulary, have you noticed parents talking on their phones while they push their strollers, or handing their child an iPad in their stroller? This worries me A LOT.
Children require repetition and interaction - they confuse the words “triangle” and “rectangle” - but if I only see them 30 times in a year, and have a LOT to teach them in that year, and the kindergarten teacher and the first grade teacher are teaching them what is in the Common Core guidelines for their grades - not pre-K. Then those children will not learn their shapes, and parents blame the teachers. I utilize a number of strategies to reinforce that information as much as possible, but it is not enough. It can’t be enough with the dearth of contact hours that I have with them.
In regards to printing/handwriting - the new Common Core is being assessed with online only assessments (not our district’s fault) - fill in the bubble as well as some writing, all online. The focus is to train students to use bubbles and on how to type. Why would classroom teachers spend time on penmanship if they also need to make sure that their third grade students can type? The other day I walked through a classroom to see the second grade students filling in their bubbles. They were chastised if they were not careful. So SAD. The teachers are under so much pressure to have their students perform. Our district scores at the top for English in our state, but I wonder how long that will be.
They didn’t use to have to fill in the bubbles.
All this and I still have people laugh (true) when I tell them that I am an elementary art teacher. “That must be fun!” is the reply I most often receive. I do love my work, but it is not much “fun” anymore. I love it when my students “get” concepts, and I know that my students understand that I care about them and their learning - everything else is just not much fun anymore. I can almost hear some of you thinking “then get out!” but I know that I am an excellent teacher - I have received the highest marks from both the administration and my students (I administer an anonymous art teacher assessment) - I want my students to have art/design in their lives, as it is one of the few creative subjects left - they have to think hard, problem solve, work in groups, come up with creative solutions to their “mistakes” - and learn to be resilient.
I would invite anyone into my classroom. Instead of fighting the teachers, please read the requirements for Common Core for your state for your child’s grade level. Take the time to read some of the test questions for your child’s grade level. See what the assessment requirements are for the Common Core. It is driving education today. Did you know that the driving force behind the Common Core, David Coleman, is the David Coleman in charge of the College Board? Google the following terms: Common Core College Board Conflict of Interest. You will have 1,190,000 hits. Please spend your energy there. We could use your help. There is talk about testing art with fill in the bubbles. All the articles that I have read about Common Core and the Arts discuss “close reading” of the images. There is no discussion of creating. If you know Bloom’s Taxonomy, that should be troubling. I am very troubled.