Maine news, sports, weather | Kennebec Journal, Augusta, Maine

Teachers need small enough classes to give students tools for the future

Carrie Emmerson

Faced with budget cuts, many people come to school board meetings to defend programs that have an impact on their children's lives.

Teaching does not usually have the same public, passionate advocates, probably because the impact of the individual and collective teachers' roles in students' lives and futures is difficult to measure or even see, especially in a similarly tangible, short-term way.

Many people think they know what is involved in teaching because we were all students once. But schooling is different now from what it was 50, 20 or even 10 years ago.

The need for a well-educated citizenry with the skills to compete in a globalized marketplace has never been more urgent, and those skills have changed.

So, what does it take to prepare students for this new and ever-changing world, and how has it changed teaching?

According to "Today's Work Competencies in Maine," published by the Maine Department of Labor in 2004, people in the modern workplace need basic skills in reading, writing and computation, as well as problem-solving, decision-making and analytical thinking skills.

These skills, which ask for adaptability to a rapidly changing marketplace, are difficult to measure and also difficult to teach. To do this well, teachers need time to create lessons and assessments that use these skills, as well as time to give feedback to hone those skills. In the current structure of most schools, teachers are given a fraction of the time they need to do this.

Many people suggest that increased technology is the key to preparing our students for the 21st century. Indeed, giving students access to the latest technology should be a priority.

It is not enough, however, simply to put computers in our children's hands; they need to learn how to use them effectively. In particular, they need to learn to analyze the volumes of information and material that are at their fingertips and how to discern the good information from the bad, the valid sources from the scams. That is the role of the teacher.

To address shrinking budgets and state funding, many school districts are suggesting cuts that would increase class sizes or teaching loads. The larger the class size, however, the less individualized the instruction becomes, despite our best intentions or efforts. The result of such cuts is that that brighter kids will not be as challenged as they should be, kids with special needs will not be as supported as they should be, and a whole bunch of "average" kids will be overlooked or ignored, which should happen to no student.

Balancing educational needs with budgetary realities is daunting, but it is also crucial to the functioning of our society.

So, before school board members decide to make any more cuts, parents should visit our schools and shadow a student for a day or two. Talk to teachers and administrators and find out what it takes to do their jobs well, and what is lost when they are not allowed to do it well, when "just one more cut" is made.

The issues around education are much more complex than spreadsheets can reflect.

Since teachers and administrators, as well as other citizens, cannot have all they want, the best they all can do is decide not what is easiest to cut, but what is most important to preserve.

I do not envy the difficult decisions that the state Legislature and school boards have to make. But everyone should know that schools already are doing more with less, and have been for a while. More students and a bigger course load mean lower quality of services to students, their parents and the community, now and in the future.

Is it worth it?

Carrie Emmerson is a social studies teacher at Maranacook Community High School, Readfield.