Sense of Urgency

I keep hearing about the ‘sense of urgency’ mindset that TFA urges us to have when approaching education. Naturally, this is logical because it is urgent to improve the quality of education in the United States. But, I figured that this doesn’t mean we have to work hard all day long and make sure we don’t waste any minute of our time. We learn that students should be taught not to waste any instructional time and that all time is valuable. Before, I doubted the necessity of this, but now, I see a sense of urgency. We can’t waste time on our children.

Now, we’re in week 3 of summer school. There are only 2.5 weeks left. At the start of summer school, my students read at an average 3^rd grade reading level. We have guided reading groups, reading lessons, and encourage reading proficiency during our lessons. Title 1 Texas teachers pull students out of class to work on reading. But, there are still only 12 more instructional days of summer school and I can’t see the growth. Tomorrow, four of my students are taking the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS) tomorrow because they failed the test last spring. One student came to school crying because he is worried he’ll fail. I know this pressure isn’t supposed to be on me; I’ve only been here a few weeks. Regardless, I can’t help but feel it.

Part of me thinks, “Don’t worry this much about it; I can’t expect my students to make great gains in such a short amount of time.” But, I know that’s wrong. In fact, reviewing my students’ diagnostic scores encouraged me to step it up into high gear. (For those that know me, I am a pretty high-gear person anyway. Now I’ve got to amplify that x 10000000).

This is urgent. My students need to be prepared for the 5^th grade. I am a teacher, and this is my responsibility. It’s time to step it up. I have a few plans: highly invest students by creating individual and class growth goals, engage students in the purpose of learning, effectively communicate objectives, and provide consistent feedback/reinforcement. As I implement these, I’ll keep you updated and let you know what works.

Note: Since I wrote this, all four students passed the TAKS. One came into class and pulled on my sleeve whispering “Ms, Ms.! I passed!!! I passed!!!!” I couldn’t have wished for a better interruption.