A teacher and parent remembers the teachers who made a difference, the ones whose work is still remembered many years later:
Thank you to the science teacher who let my son hand in elaborate hand-drawn cartoons explaining scientific processes. And to the history teacher whose project options allowed for students to act out interviews with historical figures. Thanks to my daughter’s high school English teacher who allowed the students to make puppets and perform scenes from A Midsummer’s Night Dream. Thanks to the physics teacher who let the students design and build model bridges and catapults (and I mean really build them, by hand, not using a computer program.) Thank you to my own teachers. I still remember the diorama I made showing features of the state of Oregon. I was in fourth grade and it was 1959. In 6th grade my teacher let me write lyrics to a song that was performed at an assembly. Funny, I don’t remember many standardized tests. I believe my students need creative learning opportunities — to grow, to shine, to look forward to school, to deepen their understanding of complex ideas.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
Those are the lessons that stick with you for a lifetime. I can still recall making pueblos out of milk cartons painted brown in third grade, studying road maps in fourth grade to learn more about our state (after writing letters to the state department of transportation requesting the maps) and filming a mock trial in fifth grade. We no longer allow children to construct their own knowledge: we ram it down their throats.
Thanks for posting these memories. I just happen to be collecting such memories on my most recent blog post from which I hope to distill what we’d really like to see in measuring teacher quality. If you have a story to contribute, I would very much appreciate a comment on my blog at
http://robinwilsonjohnston.edublogs.org/2012/11/19/the-direction-in-which-education-starts-a-man-will-determine-his-future-in-life-plato/
Thanks!
These are wonderful examples of teacher creativity and ingenuity, a practice being sacrificed to standardization. Let’s all stand, arm-length apart, and face right. Or left. Doesn’t matter. As long as it’s the same.
Thanks to all my teachers who made me want to follow in their footsteps. As a result, I had a wonderful, satisfying career for 35 glorious years. I always said it was an honor and a privilege to work with and for the children and parents in my school district. As luck would have it (and having been blessed with wonderful, experienced and dedicated principals), I was the recipient of several teaching awards. However, the best reward for teaching would occur during that “I get it!” moment, when a lightbulb would glow in a child’s eyes, because he/she understood something you’d taught, and could then solve math problems, or answer reading questions or spell the most difficult word correctly. Thank you, teachers, for a wonderful life.
I sent this post to the teachers at my school this morning. To remind them that they are important to their students and that making learning fun and rewarding for our students is what it is all about. We can’t let the test mania take over our school. I appreciate my coworkers and let them know that I am thankful to be on their team. It was a great way to start my day.
I am also thankful that I found Diane’s blog last Spring just as I was beginning to lose hope and give up. This has become my saving grace. A place to come to that feels like a safe haven. Thanks Diane.