'Jumped' Is a Noun

... and other tales from the 7th grade classroom.

It's been a month an a half since I started a field experience in an urban middle school. Overall, it has been a a great experience; the kids are sweet (something I did not anticipate after a previous observation in a suburban school); and the teacher is warm and eager to explain policy, procedure, and other forms of pandemonium. She has also been selected to pilot a new writing curriculum, which I find fascinating.

Most of the time, I really like what I see. With a low-income / often mobile student population, it is hard to nail down even basic skills, and watching the kids improve in their writing so much is inspiring. The hands-on approach to writing really works, and it stands in stark contrast to the other English teacher's rigidly traditional class (in which they silently take notes on figurative language for an hour).

But.

Sometimes there are moments that make me cringe.

Like Monday. It was one of those rare days devoted exclusively to grammar. She was teaching reflexive pronouns and paused to point out that they generally modify nouns.

"What's a noun?" she asked.

Silence.

And more silence.

And then one small voice asked timidly, "A person, place, or thing?"

The teacher nodded and asked the next person to identify the noun in the sentence.

"Jumped?" he guessed.

"No, what's a noun?" she replied.

He shrugged.

She did a valiant job explaining and started them on the lesson. I must have looked a little shell-shocked, because she came over and explained that they have extremely short memories, and that the stuff they learned from 6th grade doesn't make the jump from summer; heck, they barely remember the stuff from last week. They just can't keep it all in there.

Can't they? Really? Really?? How is it, then, that they come in singing the latest hit on the radio? How is it that they can recall the details of last night's football game perfectly? Is it a memory problem?

I think not. Let's talk about teaching. Let's talk about expectations. Let's talk about the definition of education and the measure of success and the validity of test scores. And the fact that students spend seven hours in the classroom. And that many teachers can't speak properly themselves. Let's look at ourselves.

Are nouns going to define these students' future success? Probably not. In fact, parts of speech don't even show up on state tests. But it's not about nouns, is it? It's about the fact that these kids have made it to 7th grade without even a basic understanding of 2nd grade skills. Is it their fault? Is it the teachers' faults? The administration's fault? Is it ours?

I don't presume to know. But explaining this phenomenon away and promoting mediocrity isn't going to help anyone, especially the students.

So let's stop making excuses, shall we?

After all, we only have seven hours in a school day.