Blog Post #5

I have sometimes heard of teachers being frustrated because they are limited to what they can teach and what they can teach. Teachers have said that there is no leway in what they can do and it is so structured anymore that they can not do activities that they had planned because they have to cover things that the state is making them. After reading this article though it really made me think again about my feelings and thoughts on this topic. I am kind of torn between how I feel because I am not yet a teacher and I have never been put strongly into that position. I can understand how frustrating it must be as teachers and when the state makes these benchmarks it is frustrating because teachers are basically limited to their creativity and what they want to teach. At the same time I think it is good to have these benchmarks and a list of ideas on ways to teach each skill. It is important so that teachers know what the children are expected to know for the following grade/grades. This also puts most teachers on the same level so all the children are learning the same material and if they were to swtich schools/ classes they would not be "lost". Again I am pretty torn about the way I feel about this article, but I agree with what Veronica Rieck said at the end of the article, "It's easy to miss things when you're new and to forget things when you're old". I may not be old yet but I do tend to forget things (everyone does) and as a future teacher I am sure to miss things as well, so these benchmarks for me, I feel would be as a benefit.
-Kaitlyn Imbus