Thread by @DrSleeps

Hi there! I have a lot of new followers (!!) who are of the college faculty/academia world and I thought I’d take the opportunity to address a couple things I’ve noticed as I’ve transitioned from college to high school teaching over the past 7 years. A thread... /1

So I see a lot along the lines of “What are they teaching these kids in HS? Why don’t HS teachers teach X? Why can’t my college students do Y?” And I’d like to give some context. I myself complained mightily about my students’ shortcomings as a college prof, but now that /2

I have some experience “on the other side” as it were I feel like I can help to clarify what most college faculty might not be aware of that will help re: the reality of HS teaching. We tend to remember what high school was like for us (in the 80s/90s for most of us) and /3

That’s really not the reality anymore. Some of those realities: 1) Teaching load : most HS teachers teach 5-6 classes. That’s a student load of 150-200 students depending on your school. That’s 3 preps (2 if you’re lucky, 4 if not). Some of these courses you know well bc /4

They’re in your area- your college major. Others you may have never studied before and you were asked to teach bc someone retired eg. Imagine teaching sociology if you were a history major in college 15 years ago. Academics are trained to be able to educate themselves on a new /5

Subject quickly, and have support to do that. HS teachers don’t (generally). This is going to result in using an older curriculum or borrowed materials just to stay afloat. Remember - 6 classes, 150-200 students. And we aren’t supposed to lecture anymore. /6

Item #2: student diversity. In my classes I have students at all levels, not just the ones who are college bound. I have students who read at 3rd grade level with Ss who read at college level in same class. I have to teach all of them. This results in some modifications /7

Out of necessity. Of course I want the students to have rigor and learn the latest historiography - but I have to teach basic vocabulary first a lot of the time. Item # 3: The reality of students’ lives today. My students are anxious, depressed, come from trauma, & poverty /8

This is not unique to HS- this is at college level too. But my Ss emotional needs are first in my book and this means they miss stuff you wish they had learned in HS. Item #4: the pressure on teachers from districts, state, & admin. Most Ts have little control over /9

The curriculum we teach. I count myself extremely lucky - I am more or less able to write my own curriculum and tweak to student needs. I teach part time, I have the ability and skills to research and adapt to changing scholarship. Most Ts do not or cannot. They must use /10

An outdated textbook and do not have time or support to supplement. Now, am I arguing that there aren’t teachers out there who are unwilling to change and stick to how they’ve taught for years? Of course not. These people exist at the college level too. You know them. /11

But to summarize - teaching high school is, on the day to day, much more exhausting than teaching at college level. You have to juggle so much. It’s like having 17 tabs open on your browser that you are reading all at once... /12

Random assemblies or testing messing up your schedule. Snow days. Students leaving class upset (where did they go? You are an adult and they are minors, they are YOUR responsibility!) students being distractible, unmotivated normal teens, new initiatives thrown at you /13

by district/state to add something new and figure it out yourself. It’s hard. All I am saying is - cut us some slack. Take some time at the beginning of each semester to figure out where the students in your classroom are. What do they know (or don’t) about your subject? /14

Work with the students you have, not the ones you wish you had. Last - when I transitioned to HS I realized how little I knew about what actually happens in a HS classroom now. But what can you do about it (other than barging in and observing a class)? Well, there is Twitter! /15

Which means there is a whole host of amazing teachers #onhere that you could (and should) follow. Just to see the other side. There aren’t enough connections between secondary and post- secondary ed in this country and it is to our students’ detriment. /16

So- some peeps & hashtags you can & should follow!!! #sschat @cultofpedagogy @LadyOfSardines @triciaebarvia @ValeriaBrownEdu @historysandoval @scottmpetri @nate_bowling @cheffernan75 @ChristieNold @SHEG_Stanford @flipping_A_tchr @sethbrady9 @WOAPGOV @Mrmurraytweets @ggcoe

Anyone I tagged please reply with others to follow!
And thanks for reading. Mostly I retweet snarky stuff about leaving academia. Back to regular programming :) /end

An NB: these and a TON of other teachers out there are doing amazing innovative up-to-date things esp in social studies & English classrooms. I am a much MUCH better teacher now because of my secondary ed training and learning from my HS teacher colleagues.

One last addition: when I say I have students of all abilities, that means intensive needs students too. This poster was an alternate assignment by an intensive needs student - the majority of the class did a USSR national interests writing & research assignment. Same topics!