Educational Issues and Trends: Guest Post by Tiffany Cavicchia

 Guest post by Tiffany Cavicchia, English/Language Arts Teacher 

Lake Norman Charter High School

Tiffany is in her 6th year at LNC and 19th year teaching overall.  She was named the Lake Norman Charter High School Teacher of the Year for 2021-2022.  This essay was included in the Teacher of the Year portfolio.

Educational Issues and Trends

by Tiffany Cavicchia

What do you consider to be the major issues facing public education today?  Address one in depth, outlining possible causes, effects and resolutions.

Is it apathy or the curse of a Google generation and social media? Instant gratification creates impatience and hinders critical thinking. Students want the answer now and have trouble thinking outside the box. Our job as teachers is to adapt and find new ways to engage students in learning. So much has changed with technology, philosophies for teaching, and student expectations since I started 19 years ago. How can reading a book and answering questions prepare all students to be career-ready? How can digital worksheets allowing easy Googling of answers help students feel engaged? With any lesson, I always ask myself what the ultimate purpose of the lesson is; what life skill do I want the students to walk away with? School is no longer solely about academics; we must teach students compassion, wellness, digital citizenship, and critical thinking.

Reading comprehension and analysis are important, as they are necessary in any field from reading manuals to analyzing information on the job. I believe lessons should also incorporate life skills to teach the students how to synthesize the information, how to create professional presentations through exposure to multiple platforms, and how they can use their own lives to spark change. How can I use a book about a Palestinian bus bomber in Israel to teach real-world issues, tolerance, and to see the world from other perspectives? How can I use my classroom to expose the students to ways they can market themselves and empower others? Creating community-conscious individuals who feel empowered will incite change and find solutions through critical thinking because someone opened their eyes to opportunities. Exposing our students to a world outside of Google and social media by teaching responsible digital citizenship, compassion for others, and how to balance it all with trial and error is what our students need. How do we do that? We embrace lessons that are not about teaching to a test, but challenge our students. We create projects requiring the synthesis of information from multiple points of view and allow them to learn through trial and error with specific feedback. We focus on teaching the whole child through developing life skills of kindness, accountability, and patience. We do this by being positive role models, building personal connections with our students, and leading by example.

Realizing standardized testing has both negative and positive benefits, colleges are even looking for alternate ways to look at applicants instead of the usual ACT and SAT options. Because I teach inclusion, I see first-hand the struggles of many students in their ability to recall information and do well on unit tests. These students can have conversations about the novel and concepts, as I am confident they understand the content, but they struggle with confidence and proving reading comprehension when they do not have the text to refer to. Most careers allow employees to reference materials and research while they are working, so why should I require my students to have to recall information without the text? I believe they will get more from the lesson if we teach them to research and synthesize the information for application, rather than a “gotcha” mentality.

Project-based learning allows students to see a rubric with specific details as to how they will be assessed, encourages research and synthesis of information from multiple sources, and establishes presentation standards to include conventions and attention to detail. These skills are necessary for any career path and allow students to ask questions, collaborate, and share inferences based on their own life experiences. It removes the stressors of testing and cheating because if students are given the opportunity to work with others, express their creativity, and use the text to synthesize components, they are still learning how to manage their time and personalize the information. In addition, the presentation of projects in the classroom teaches public speaking, reinforces specific concepts because they hear them in each presentation, and allows the teacher to assign multiple concepts to different students for a well-rounded and in-depth unit.

Teachers teach because we have a passion to change the world one student at a time. We rise by lifting each other. Bringing these ideas together is how we will inspire and empower our students and colleagues.

Thank you for viewing,

#LNCPride

CS

The opinions shared in this blog belong to Craig Smith and do not represent the school or district in which he works.