Chapter 2: The Teacher as Schmidt            

 





I discovered the meaning of Mr. Newkirk's title for this chapter.  He has gone back into history to find out where many of our teaching dilemmas originated.  In 1899 when the U.S. was at war with Spain, pig iron was needed for the war effort.  An efficient expert watched workers and decided that strictly controlling the movements of the workers, their work output would be doubled.  He began with a worker named Schmidt.  To earn more money, Schmidt had to work when told, rest when told, and never talk back or question.  It didn't take long for this concept to take hold in the educational field.  Obviously, Mr. Newkirk is equating the worker named Schmidt to today's teachers.

 

A plan was developed to enable larger urban school districts to become strictly organized and supervised.  One plan was William Harvey Wells' book, The Graded School: A Graded Course of Instruction for Public Schools with Copious Practical Directions to Teachers and Observations on Primary Schools, School Discipline, Schol Records, Etc ([1869] 1962).  I think the title pretty much says it all!  Schools were equated with businesses.  It was thought that by running a tightly controlled ship, the product could be attended to more efficiently, whether the product was pig iron or children.

 

Those supporting this principle asserted, "Teachers cannot be permitted to follow caprice in method.  When a method which is clearly superior to all other methods has been discovered, it alone can be employed..."  "The fundamental decisions about instruction must be made by management, not the 'rank and file'--for only a scientifically astute supervising class could oversee the full sequence of 'production.'"  Today we frequently hear all about research based teaching methods, etc.  While I value and read research, that doesn't mean that research can tell me the best way to help individual students.  As long as students are different from one another (and we know they are and always will be), teachers have to use much discretion in discovering the best way to help each unique individual.

 

The next part of chapter 2 is called "The Failure of Educational Research."  Another post will follow when I finish reading it.

 



 

Holding on to Good Ideas in a Time of Bad Ones:

Six Literacy Principles Worth Fighting For 

by Thomas Newkirk

 

 

This book is divided into three sections, with chapters within each of those sections.  The first section, "Part 1: The Mechanization of Teaching," contains the first two chapters.  I wondered immediately at the title of the first chapter, "The Curse of Graphite."  Mr. Newkirk begins with a history of electronic methods for scoring tests.  The first of these machines was developed in the 1930s by Reynold B. Johnson.  His experiments produced the "Markograph."  The Markograph could score graphite marks on a test sheet.  Hence, the #2 pencils passed out annually at our standardized testing times.  In 1935 the Iowa Test of Basic Skills was developed and quickly became the standard in American classrooms. 

Even now, students are tested on items that can be scored electronically.  This obviously eliminates so many qualities we attempt to instill in students, such as reasoning and thinking outside the box.  Teachers are engulfed in the standards movement, emphasizing standards-based instruction, enabled by scripted teacher instructions.  Mr. Newkirk advocates a balance between standards and teacher initiative, allowing for teacher decision making.  He states, "Unfortunately, in my experience many of the reforms that have been put in place are so restrictive--even distrustful of teacher creativity--that they strip teachers of agency and ownership of their own craft.  This is a heavy, unconscionable price to pay."  I agree that teacher judgment seems to be more and more pushed aside in the name of uniformity and standardization.  Standards themselves are a good thing.  We should have a plan for what needs to be taught.  I object to the scripted teacher editions.  However, it does make it easier for a substitute to come in and teach without knowing anything about our students.  But what does that say about what teachers are permitted to do in their classrooms?  Sadly, not much.

Mr. Newkirk discusses the situational aspect of teaching, such as helping a child who is having trouble decoding a word.  He highlights the number of variables that need to be considered by the teacher, all in a short amount of time, such as previous success by the child, frustration level, significance of the particular word, interest, prior knolwedge, child's strengths and weaknesses, teacher's patience level, and the behavior of the other children.  "Group comparison research may suggest patterns for large populations, but teachers must make decisions in complex and individual human situations.  consequently, there is an inevitable mismatch between the guidance research can provide--and the decisions teachers must make."

Another point is that standardization can lead only to sameness, not quality instrsuction.  I cannot count how many times I've said that "fair doesn't mean equal."  I think all good teachers will acknowledge that the way we treat students depends on so many varied factors.  Students need to be taught and treated according to their individual needs.  Even in the area of discipline, each student is an individual case.  That's what makes many hard and fast discipline systems fail.  Individual students respond to discipline in varied ways.  While some may require a more firm hand, others would be humiliated with the same treatment. 

One point made by the author that summarizes his thoughts in this chapter is "I will make the case that when curriculum is defined as covering 'content,' writing in particular is the activity that gets crowded out."  He goes on to say, "Time is chopped up into shorter and shorter units.  Depth gives way to breadth; and time-intensive activities like writing and revising fall by the wayside."  I know from talking to many teachers that this holds true.  Other than fourth grade teachers, most say that they have a difficult time giving writing the instructional time it deserves because of all the other requirements and deadlines they have to meet.

I look forward to reading Chapter 2 -- "The Teacher as Schmidt."  I don't know the symbolism of the name yet, but will eagerly read to find out!



 

 

 

 

 

 

I have begun reading Holding on to Good Ideas in a Time of Bad Ones (2009) by Thomas Newkirk.  Mr. Newkirk taught at-risk high school students in the 1970s.  He is now Professor of English at the University of New Hampshire.  Mr. Newkirk is also the director and founder of its New Hampshire Literacy Institutes.  He has studied literacy learning from the preschool level all the way through the college level.

 

                         

 

Books by Thomas Newkirk:

The Art of Slow Reading (2011)

Holding on to Good Ideas in a Time of Bad Ones (2009)

Teaching the Neglected "R" (2007)

Misreading Masculinity (2004)

Performance of Self in Student Writing (1997)

Taking Stock: The Writing Process Movement in the 90s (1994, coedited with Lad Tobin)

Nuts & Bolts: A Practical Guide to Teaching College Composition (1993)

 

Children Want to Write - coeditor with Penny Kittle

The Essential Don Murray - coeditor with Lisa Miller

 

Thomas Newkirk has been named the 2010 recipient of the Gary Lindberg Award for his outstanding contributions as a faculty member of the University of New Hampshire.