The Education Reflection Podcast

On March 7th, 2022, Gov. Greg Abbott called for the Texas Education Agency to form a task force with several goals focusing on why districts are having so much trouble finding qualified teachers in Texas.

In this lesson, we discuss all the information put out by the TEA in regard to the task force. We drop all the information and then we talk about our feelings on the task force give our guidance on where the task force should looking if they want to solve the problems that are influencing education in Texas.

Enjoy the show!

Thank you for tuning in to Lesson 12 of The Education Reflection Podcast and we hope our experiences, reflections, and thoughts were able to help you. Please subscribe to the podcast and  leave us a review of the podcast on whichever platform you are listening to. Those reviews really influence the podcast algorithms. Also, don’t forget about our website at realisticpedagogy.org. There you can find several helpful blog articles and past podcast episodes.

If you care to send us a message, you can use our Contact page there as well or sign up for our newsletter, The Lunch Break. Remember, great teachers build a great future! Class dismissed and we will see you next time!

Resources:
Texas Education Agency
Texas AFT

Hey educators!

In Lesson 11, we explain a little of the national narrative in regards to teacher burnout. There are several sources talking about this topic. Therefore, we wanted to give the 'consensus' about what our research has called teacher burnout.

Of course, it wouldn't be The Education Reflection Podcast, if we didn't share our own experiences dealing with teacher burnout. We both give some examples where we have been tired and exhausted and how we were able to stop, breathe, and push through to even higher places in our careers.

Thank you for tuning in to Lesson 11 of The Education Reflection Podcast and we hope our experiences, reflections, and thoughts were able to help you. Please leave us a review of the podcast on whichever platform you are listening to. Those reviews really influence the podcast algorithms. Also, don’t forget about our website at realisticpedagogy.org. There you can find several helpful blog articles and past podcast episodes. 

If you care to send us a message, you can use our Contact page there as well or sign up for our newsletter, The Lunch Break. Remember, great teachers build a great future! Class dismissed and we will see you next time!

Resources:

National Education Association

In Lesson 10, Mr. and Mrs. Sarver talk about the world of public education and how it deals with the State of Texas Assessment of Academic Readiness (STAAR).

First, we would like to apologize for not being as consistent as we should be on the blog and the podcast. Both of us have been passing illnesses back and forth between ourselves and our children. Of course, we also have the extra added pressures of the Spring Semester!

During all of this, we also have been going through a little bit of a rebranding. We are expanding our offerings to teachers, administrators, and school districts by offering mentoring, consultation services. Check out the new look and services at Realistic Efficient Pedagogy.

Parents and the STAAR Test

Many feel that the test is too high stakes or that it does not adequately test what the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) say should be taught in school. We have also personally seen students have anxiety attacks when it comes to taking the STAAR.

COVID provided a break in the stringent consequences related to the STAAR test. However, now that we are 'past' the pandemic those consequences can range from losing electives the following year due to House Bill 4545 to students not being able to graduate.

Parents also fear what not passing the test means for their children. They sometimes feel that failing the STAAR means their child is not developmentally up to standards or in need of special education help, which is not always the case.

Administrators and the STAAR Test

From a school standpoint, the STAAR is a needed assessment that gives needed data for administrators and teachers to refocus education. It is used as a major part of the school accountability system that influences how the state grades the school.

Overall though, if the administrators build realistic and efficient systems, the STAAR scores should be within desired guidelines. It is important, but we have far more important things to worry about.

Students, teachers, and the classroom dealing with the STAAR Test

We think that teachers and students should feel the same way as administrators. We must have some time of cumulative assessment to see how they do. However, the students aren't taking STAAR as seriously as they should.

We have policies and procedures in the classroom, such as dropping the lowest grade or something of that nature. But, we have to see if they are ready for the next grade. If they are multiple years behind, they start to feel defeated and that leads to them falling even further behind.

Not only that, teachers are held completely accountable on the STAAR scores. Do poorly, and you might not have a job next year. Fair or not, that is the state of education right now. Especially when issues with the subjectivity of the test means people get different messages.

Conclusion

The educational system uses the STAAR test as an "I Gotcha!" instead of focusing on what is important. However, the narrative that educators spread about the test needs to change as well.

There are a few things that we can do, or at least change the way we think about the STAAR test. It will take dedicated processes and pattern changes for our students to be successful during these stressful times!

More information and tips about things that are affecting education today can be found by listening to our Podcast or take some time to read our blog. If you have any thoughts or feedback, please leave us a comment or contact us via our Contact Us page.

Resources:

Lead4Ward

Introduction

Thank you for listening and we are glad to be back after out bouts with COVID. We are feeling much better and ready to get back on track bringing you guys some content. Today, Mr. and Mrs. Sarver are going to be introducing the State of Texas Assessment of Academic Readiness (STAAR).

Introduction/Good Things:
Every episode, we like to bring a little bit of positivity into the world so we start every lesson with some good things. While we are both getting over COVID, we tried not to waste too much time. We got plenty of work done while out on quarantine.

Whole Group Instruction: 

What is STAAR?

1. State’s Standardized Test
2. Who creates the Test
3. Who administers the Test

Group Work: 

1. Grade Levels and Subjects Tested
2. Passing Rates

Individual Work:

1. What does the STAAR Mean
2. What happens if you fail
3. Retesting Options

Exit Ticket:

“Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, magic, and power in it.” - Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Thank you for tuning in to Lesson 9 of the Realistic Efficient Pedagogy Podcast and we hope you enjoyed hearing our reflections and resolutions. Please leave us a review of the podcast on whichever platform you are listening to. We have several blog articles and past podcasts on our website at realisticpedagogy.org. On that website, you can go to our Contact Us page to send us a message and/or any feedback.

Next episode, Lesson 10, Mrs. Sarver and I are going to continue our STAAR coverage and let you guys know how we feel about STAAR. Thank you to all of our listeners and we can’t wait to talk with you all again!

More information and tips about things that are affecting education today can be found at our Podcast or other articles on our blog. Please leave us a comment below or contact us using our Contact page.

Class Dismissed!

Mr. and Mrs. Sarver reflect on several things that took place over the 2021 year and share their thoughts and feelings on upcoming things for 2022.

Warm-Up
The hosts, Mr. and Mrs. Sarver,  talk about the great time they have had with family during the Christmas break. They share how grateful they are that they were able to share this time and even got to have a quick, two day trip so they can recharge and get ready for the Spring semester.

Reflections of 2021
Mrs. Sarver:

1.  Brings up anxiety and having to deal with it more this year then in previous years and how she has had to learn "going with the flow" and how important that has been for her.
2. In line with anxiety, this year has led to her and several educators feeling overwhelmed and unappreciated. To the hosts, this is one of the largest causes of the teachers leaving.
3. She brings up the importance of having a team around you. Having friends and coworkers that you can count on to be there for each other has built a support system.

Mr. Sarver:

1.  COVID-19 has changed the landscape of education, whether for good or for worse. While there is no denying this, educators have to find ways to be more efficient so that the education of the students does not continue to suffer.
2. He shares that he learned several valuable lessons in 2021 and his belief in education has suffered because of it. The idea of working harder and pushing through is not going to survive in education going forward.
3. Along with his wife, he expresses how important team is to the overall culture of a school and having the wrong team destroys schools more than helps them succeed.

Resolutions of 2022
Mr. Sarver:

1. He wants to add the human element into policies and processes that schools create. His goal is to make these processes more efficient so teachers can focus on educating students and have their personal time back.
2. He wants to focus on building the Realistic Efficient Pedagogy brand into something that will be a true resource for educators to use. 
3. He wants to look into several different professional developments that will help him in his current position and is thinking about going and getting his educational leadership doctoral degree.

Mrs. Sarver:

1. The switch from writing to reading has been a struggle that she hopes to learn more about and build more effective lessons for her students in the subject.
2. She also wishes to build the Realistic Efficient Pedagogy brand with more focus on getting feedback from readers and listeners and providing specific lessons to help real issues that educators are facing today.
3. She wants to look into getting her master's degree in Curriculum and Instruction and build her professional career to learn more ways to serve students who are struggling to keep up.

Exit Ticket:
Inspirational Quote by Edith Lovejoy Pierce
                "We will open the book. Its pages are blank. We are putting words on them ourselves.                      This book is called opportunity and the first chapter is New Year's Day."

The next lesson will have the hosts talking about the upcoming testing season and the STAAR test. Thank you all for listening and we will talk to you next lesson!

More information and tips about things that are affecting education today can be found at our Podcast or other articles on our blog. Please leave us a comment below or contact us using our Contact page.

I know it is different from our normal lesson plan format, but we wanted to start working on interviewing people. Our plan is to have more interviews coming up in 2022.

We interviewed five students - honestly we cheated - we interviewed our two school aged sons, our school aged nephew, and our two school aged nieces.

We hope that you enjoy the interviews and take what the students have to say into account when you are planning your lessons or creating your policies.

Thank you for tuning into Lesson 6 of the Realistic Efficient Pedagogy Podcast. In this lesson, we talked about teacher recognition. Please leave us a review on whichever podcast platform you are listening on and check out our website at Realistic Efficient Pedagogy.

More information and tips about things that are affecting education today can be found at our Podcast or other articles on our blog. Please leave us a comment below or contact us using our Contact page.

Class dismissed and we will talk to you next lesson!

Warm-up
Bringing positivity into education is so important, especially with things going on today. Mr. and Mrs. Sarver talk about the good things they have experienced in education.

Whole Group Instruction
Mrs. Sarver starts off the lesson talking about the lack of proficient teacher recognition systems and how unimaginative they have become with the basics of Teacher of the Month and/or Teacher of the Year.

Mr. Sarver talks about his experiences with teacher recognition systems where he talks about the Teacher of the Month Programs and the reliance on food for recognizing teachers on the campus, but done incorrectly. He also throws in the jean passes as a teacher recognition tool that is used.

Group Work
To build a more rewarding teacher recognition system, Mr. and Mrs.  Sarver suggests that it is key to rethink how we recognize our staff. It may require some imagination and research, but here are the points that the hosts promoted:

• Flip the Script
• Personalized teacher recognition
• Nominate staff for monetary awards
• Public recognition
• Student power in teacher recognition
• "I See You" sign

Individual Work
As we all know, it will take several voices to affect change in education. Unfortunately, teacher recognition is no different. Mr. and Mrs. Sarver suggest that you need to have honest conversations to bring issues to light.

If you are a teacher, talk to the administrator about better, more imaginative ways to recognize staff. As an administrator, take teacher recognition to the next level by adding it to the CIP and getting teacher input to build a better system.

Exit Ticket
Thank you for tuning into Lesson 6 of the Realistic Efficient Pedagogy Podcast. In this lesson, we talked about teacher recognition. Please leave us a review on whichever podcast platform you are listening on and check out our website at Realistic Efficient Pedagogy.

More information and tips about things that are affecting education today can be found at our Podcast or other articles on our blog. Please leave us a comment below or contact us using our Contact page.

Class dismissed and we will talk to you next lesson!

We wanted to give you a special episode where we talk about the things that we are thankful for on Thanksgiving.

Thank you to all of you listening and those that Mrs. Sarver and I work with. We would not have the life that we have without all of you and here is to another great year at Realistic Efficient Pedagogy.

What is HB4545 and How do we follow it?

Warm-Up

Mr. and Mrs. Sarver share the good thing that is happening this week. For them, it is Thanksgiving Break! They also want to say thank you to everyone for the support people have given the website and podcast. Keep the feedback coming!

Also, don’t forget to leave them a review on whichever platform you are listening on. Be honest, of course!

Group Instruction

Texas HB 4545 is a new bill that was past during the 87th Texas Legislative Session. It consists of a few key points that focus on improving the quality of remediation for those students that failed the State of Texas of Academic Readiness, aka STAAR.

The two main points consist of removing the retention requirement of 5th and 8th graders if they failed to pass the STAAR and the formation of Accelerated Learning Committees. The bill also sets specific requirements for how a local education agency (LEA) can offer the remediation.

Basically, for each failed test, a minimum of thirty (30) hours per year must be given to the student. However, the remediation time must not remove the student from regular classes and must be conducted with a 3:1 student to teacher ratio.

The student must also receive this accelerated instruction every year until they reach “Approaches Grade Level” on the subject test. This includes high school’s EOC tests. For accountability, the student is required to attend this remediation time as they are subject to the compulsory attendance rule.

Group Work

1. Retention of 5th and 8th graders who fail the STAAR
   • Too much mental strain for students that young being retained due to STAAR
   • The retention policy would have profound effects on a student’s social development when peers go to a different school (i.e. 6th grade = Middle School and 9th grade = High School)
   • HB 4545 only affects those enrolled in Texas schools the previous year. Out of state, private school, and homeschoolers that are new enrollees will not be under new law until the following year.
2. Accelerated Learning Committee
   • Creates a specialized learning committee, similar to an ARD committee.
   • Must have the principal, parent, and teacher of the failing subject.
   • Plan must consist of a customized learning plan, progress-monitoring plan, assessment tools and data, and specific actions/resources given to the student.

Individual Work

Resources available:

• Email for HB 4545: [email protected]
• TEA’s HB4545 FAQ.

Exit Ticket

Thank you for listening to Lesson 4. Please leave us a review on whichever platform you are listening on or use the Contact Us page at realisticpedagogy.org. We would love to hear from you.

https://www.realisticpedagogy.org

On this lesson, Mr. and Mrs. Sarver talk discuss their own experiences with self care and the importance behind self care.

Warm-up:
Both hosts describe some good things that have happened in their life since last episode. Mr. Sarver focuses on the work as always and Mrs. Sarver has some time away from the husband and kids.
https://www.realisticpedagogy.org
They also talk about why self care has become a hot topic in Texas education today and their own experiences in trying to provide themselves with self care.

Whole Group Instruction:
Mr. Sarver defines self care from an amalgam of research trying to nail down what self care really is and talks about a couple of the issues he has had in finding the elusive fun time to relax or decompress.

Mrs. Sarver discusses, especially as a woman, wife, and mother, that schools have taken a step in the direction of a teacher's personal family being second to the students and the school. She also talks about the exhaustion involved in teaching and a parent.

Group Work:
The hosts believe that to make progress on how schools treat their teachers and get districts to realize that self care is must have, they must re-evaluate the work load placed on teachers by building efficient pedagogical systems into initiatives and directives.

From the teacher side of things, an educator must be able to recognize their own limits and build the ability to (respectfully) say no. Educators and districts must understand that mental health is a strain at this point and there will be times that a different solution must be created.

Individual Work
Realistic Efficient Pedagogy was originally started to provide a safe haven for educators to have real conversations about issues that are affecting education today. The wish of Mr. and Mrs. Sarver is to help provide a community that builds efficient systems into education that provide the gift of time back into the teacher's or administrator's day.

Together, we can bring pedagogy back into balance and would love to network and build that community with you. We want your feedback on anything we can do to provide value to your lives or things we can do better to help you.

Exit Ticket
The quote this week was poking a bit of fun but, oddly, fit with the theme of the lesson. There is no argument that the student's education is the most valuable product a school can produce. However, we have to take care of the teachers first so they can provide the education our students deserve.

Thank you for tuning into the Realistic Efficient Pedagogy Podcast. Please visit our website at realisticpedagogy.org and leave us a review of the podcast. Again, we would love to hear from you!