Adapting to Large Workloads in a Time Constraining Schedule

In Fall 2019 I began working in a teaching internship at Santa Monica Alternative School House, also known as SMASH. They are located off Lincoln Blvd in Santa Monica, a few blocks from the Blick’s art store which has been coincidentally convenient. Their mission is to nurture all aspects of a child the intellectual, physical, emotional, social, creative, and cultural by focusing on children’s skills in cooperation, assertion, responsibility, empathy, and self-control. For the last several weeks I have been having my first experiences as being more than just a student in a classroom. I have had a chance to see the difficulties behind the scenes of teachers adapting to circumstances. My mentor is Julianna Ostrovsky, she is the art teacher for Core 1 and Core 4 on Mondays. Core 1 is K-2nd and Core 4 is 7-8th, so I have gotten the chance to work with students of different ages, some learning how to read and some students preparing for high school, which has given me a wider experience of how students respond to SMASH’s teaching methods. The student population at SMASH is lively, they have lots of energy and want to interact with their peers and make art. Often times they can be too excited and chat when they're not supposed to be but mostly they are diligent listeners. 

I have observed that there is often a rush in order to get students working on time and finished with things by the end of class. There isn't really any time to waste if we are going to get everything prepared, processed, and cleaned up by the end of the day. Julianna usually does not even take a lunch break so she can get prepared for the Core 4 classes in the afternoon. Students help clean up their supplies but there are always things and marks of students left behind, along with projects to help organize and store. Sometimes children talking can slow down progress too. When students begin to get noisy they are not paying attention as well and often need to be reminded of what we are doing throughout the class. Sometimes it takes a little bit when students projects need to be passed back out and we are trying to find which is which students. Overall, there is just a need to stay on top of things in order to get each class in and out smoothly. 

Julianna is also a teacher at five different schools, one each day of the week. I bet that makes it harder for her to stay on top of each one's curriculum compared to a teacher who teaches at the same school every day. I wonder how many teachers also deal with feeling rushed and how some teachers adapt to their constricting schedules. I researched teachers managing their workload and according to a National Education Union Survey “about 80% of classroom teachers have seriously considered leaving the profession in the past 12 months because of their workload.” (Tickle, “'Every Lesson Is a Battle': Why Teachers Are Lining up to Leave.”) This seemed like an outrageous number of teachers were feeling this way, but why was this becoming an increasing problem I asked. Many teachers claimed that their work schedule was affecting more than just their time in the classroom, they were finding that it was negatively impacting their home and family lives, and we're left with little energy after the workweek to be productive and spend time doing things they enjoy on the weekends. Overtesting and pressure to meet government targets were the other main reasons people were claiming they no longer wanted to teach.  Sometimes one teacher may have multiple disabled or disruptive students in one classroom at a time. This can make it very hard for them to manage behavior that facilitates the most active learning experience and can hold back the teacher and the other students. Teachers may feel the impending doom of being dismissed on competence if they are behind on their workload for six consecutive weeks. 

In my Sophomore year's Teach For Learning 1 class, we researched Paolo Friere and his philosophy on teaching pedagogy. He was known for his ideas against the traditional teaching method which was dependent on the passive learners being filled with knowledge facilitated by the teacher. In his book “Pedagogy of the Oppressed” written in 1970 he theorizes a new relationship between teacher, student, and society with his coined concept of critical pedagogy. He states that teaching is an inherently political act, one that should be used to combat a sexist, classist, and racist society. By including more interaction from students as opposed to being just receivers of knowledge, they can learn from each other and create a sense of humanity between different learners. This method is how education can be used for social change,  as opposed to a dehumanization method for both students and teachers which will lead to more engaged learning and more impactful memories as they are related to the students and the world around them. But for teachers who are rushing to say and demonstrate more information then the students can even soak up, there just isn't always time to allow students to talk and find conclusions through their own exploration. 

At SMASH they are a project-based learning school. That means that they are centered around hands-on experiences, which allows for choice in what and how they learn; as opposed to problem-based learning, where students will research answers to specific questions and defined problems that usually come to one refined conclusion. SMASH students are encouraged to use higher-order thinking as they approach their own solutions in their exploration of real-world problems. Project-based learning is beneficial because it can often more interdisciplinary, but also can easily be turned into longer ongoing projects. At SMASH they value the social curriculum as much as the academic curriculum which is why they use real-life applications, flexible structures, and freedom with responsibility much like Paolo Friere’s pedagogy to create well-rounded students. 

So how can you manage this kind of a classroom in a definite result-driven society? Creating lesson plans that do not try to do too much at once. When a project sparks interest in the students allocate appropriate for it based on the importance of the lesson and the time needed to complete it. Trying to create too large of a project will cut students short of doing what interests them. You need to leave extra time every day for possible setbacks because most days don't go ideally to schedule especially with the unexpected things that can go on in a classroom. Setting guidelines that efficiently will bring the learners to their conclusions will help the process go faster and smoother.  This may mean cutting out or narrowing down some things, but focusing on the students rather then the written plan will help the classroom dynamic. A responsible teacher asks themselves whether each activity is a proper use of their class time, re-evaluating, and shifting to the demands of the classroom. Other then on a personal level, we can revise what schools measure on a national level. Making standards set more individually by the institutions will allow for adaptations to the social, economic, and political factors that contribute to that specific school. 

My experience as an intern at Santa Monica Alternative School House has given me insight into the world of teaching which I will be entering in a few short years. I feel more aware of the problems I will face and how I can manage them. Many teachers everywhere are dealing with time constraints and large workloads and by discussing and researching we can learn to make the most of our classrooms. By using education methods such as Paolo Friere’s critical pedagogy we can create more meaningful approaches to students. As active learners become active members of society, it will lead to more successful and inclusive learning and a brighter future for Education of the arts. 

Bibliography

Tickle, Louise. “'Every Lesson Is a Battle': Why Teachers Are Lining up to Leave.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 10 Apr. 2018, www.theguardian.com/education/2018/apr/10/lesson-battle-why-teachers-lining-up-leave.

Watson, Angela, and Patricia Longo. “Always Feel Rushed in Class? How to Let Go of the GOOD to Make Time for the GREAT.” The Cornerstone For Teachers, 12 Dec. 2018, thecornerstoneforteachers.com/truth-for-teachers-podcast/time-management-in-classroom-teaching/.

November 1, 2019