Teachbad Differentiation Video
I was so inspired by the video somebody sent me last week that I had to try it myself. It’s official. Mr. Teachbad now has his own YouTube channel. Learn. Enjoy. Go forth and teach.
Mr. Teachbad
Mr. Teachbad 
Genius.
I loved this.….please post more!
Good stuff.….This sort of crap is driving me straight to retirement.
The university in my area is offering Master’s in Education Administration and Education Leadership, all online. They are turning out new administrators between 1000 to 1300 a semester. They have so many graduating, that they now hold separate graduations for these newly minted M.Ed’s. None are actually getting degrees to make themselves better classroom teachers.( God forbid you get a M.A. in history or a M.S. in biology.) As an old time teacher told me, ” the further you get away from the kids in the school business, the more money you make.“
The scary part is this, how many of these newly minted M.Ed’s are falling for this education Bullsh#t???
this is hilarious! lol especially @ her trying to get out of the meeting. This was me last week.
That was awesome!
I love you.
I’m wondering if administrators have always been this ridiculous or if this kind of edudrone has only come into existence in the past few years. I suspect programs like TFA and the small schools movement (which creates a larger demand for administrators, thereby lowering the quality of the avg admin) have contributed to this population heavily.
Good point re. the connection of small schools proliferation to the “demand” for yet more admins.
Basically anyone who’s ” had it” with the classroom has a way out. Result: people who are in the worst shape… professionally and psychologically… are making ed. policy.
HAHAHAHA. Love it.
Wait…are you really suggesting that kids without heads are not normal? Shit! I have some learning goals to rewrite.
Sorry. really good satire involves some degree of *exaggeration*.
Kidding! It’s greater than great.
Tsk tsk. Another teacher with low expectations. Clearly, if she just believed and worked harder, that kid would grow another head, out of which he could potentially start to speak English. Where is Superman when you need him??
Seriously, I feel like I sat through this very meeting last year! Nine different reading levels among the 32 students in my classroom, a girl with severe special needs who was inadequately serviced, and I had to waste several afternoons receiving completely UNdifferentiated professional development about how to differentiate instruction. Like the money we were paying those people to lecture at us over a crappy dinner wouldn’t be better spent reducing class sizes or hiring a few more paraprofessionals! The best part was when they shared a model lesson they’d designed that was completely “differentiated” (for imaginary children), and “it only took 45 minutes!” (Also known as the entire amount of time we had allotted to plan ALL of our instruction…but hey, who needs to sleep or eat?)
Actual memo, submitted without prejudice… you decide, Pinhead or Patriot? (pt 1)
Bill,
Thanks for your response. Bell work (bell ringer) may be used as a review activity, but that should take place inside a specific unit or chapter, and said review should be related to unit essential outcomes that were previously evaluated through formative assessments. In other words, if after reviewing data from a formative assessment you determine that students did not master a particular objective, then it would be appropriate to incorporate a bell work (bell ringer) activity as a means to reinforce/re-teach that particular objective.
It should not be a review of objectives from a prior, completed unit where a summative assessment has already taken place.
As stated in your plan for improvement under E.7 Works to complete building, district, and BOE goals bell work/anticipatory set is meaningful and related to the district curricular objective.
Thank you,
Ted
Shit, Bill…I’m sorry.
Fabulous!! This is the kind of professional development we require when systems are not equipped to tackle the need to improve content knowlege. This garbage is also the reason that educators are so disrespected as a profession.
I sat in this meeting last week! What I love is I was feeling guilty about the kids low grade 6 scores, and I started teaching there this September… And it was the same completely undifferentiated workshop that I sat through 3 times at my previous school…
Here’s a thought: maybe my students would score better on writing tasks if they’d stop talking, throwing erasers, crawling under desks, and running through the closet long enough to write something longer than a couple sentences. I’ve been told the kids at this school are very “good” and very smart. Clearly, I need to be differentiating and adding rigor to my program!
Just tried to hang myself…failed…I think I need to clarify my objective and try re-hanging. Certainly the no-head kid doesn’t have this problem. Maybe we could redefine reality to provide the illusion of success. New standard: Students with no heads will no longer have to nod when they understand, but will instead indicate understanding by remaining headless–there…four more students just became proof we’re doin’ all right. Hells ya!
Congrats on being featured in the Washington Post!
Typo Correction: Fabulous!! This is the kind of professional development we require when systems are not equipped to tackle the need to improve content knowledge. This garbage is also the reason that educators are so disrespected as a profession.
Okay, it seems like everyone here agrees that differentation is bad and borderline impossible to do. I can respect that. But can I ask, what is the point of a kid who is several years ahead of his classmates in whatever subject matter going to a class about the subject.
For example, when I was still in elementary school (lets say later part of 4th grade, all of 5th grade though I do forget the percise moment involved) I myself was ready for algebra. Sometimes I would work hard to teach myself some very basic algebra (sadly I was beyond my mom’s, who helped me get so far ahead, ability to teach) but the more complicated concepts (like solving x^2 + 4x + 4) were killing me. Thus that was what I really wanted to learn… what I learned instead was 3 * 4 = 12.
Being a good student I didn’t complain (after all I had to get over my ODD) and just sat there and got done with my assignments 5 minutes into class and sat there and read for the next hour or so. The teacher would generally lecture about something and would occassionally get annoyed that I wasn’t paying attention, but she knew that if she tried to trick me about solving a problem I would know it anyway… when it comes to 5th grade I took the exact same class the year before (skipped me ahead in 4th grade, couldn’t afford to let me go to the middle school in 5th so yea… held back in subject I aced…).
So my question to you is, what was the point in me coming to math class? Was giving me a chance to catch up on my reading really worth it? Why not just let me go outside and play and see what I learn there? Or send me down to the public library, maybe there is a book that would help me out there? What was the point in pretending to teach me what I was really taught 3 years ago. Is this a situation where a little differentation might be a good thing (and by a little differentation I mean more then just putting assignments on my desk that said x^2 + 4x + 4 = 0 I did get that sometimes… some geometry concepts were “taught” to me like that too if I remember correctly)?
I don’t think most teachers believe that the idea of differentiation is bad or impossible, I think it’s the way that administrators try to cram it down our throats that bugs us teachers.
Also, these same administrators mostly likely were never great teachers in the classroom and by jumping on the latest bandwagon and using the buzzwords they think they’re doing a great job as a educational leader.
I think most teachers believe if administrators would just do the job of supporting teachers with discipline problems plus give us the tools and time we need to do our jobs without making us jump through all kinds of hoops then we might be able to differentiate a bit more with students like Endersdragon.
That was a nice response, but I am not sure if I beleive you. Now don’t get me wrong, I am sure all teachers would love to adequately differinate for all of their students, I just don’t think they do / will / will know how to without help from someone, maybe their administrators are a bad choice, but they need some help. The main reason I beleive this is that gifted students are still an “at-risk” catergory… largely because they get bored. This was true when I was educated in the 90s, and still true today.
“Differentiation” and “individualized” instruction are just ways for idiot administrators to refuse to group students and classes by ability levels. I have taught school, regular and special education, and am currently substituting in “life skills” classes. The ONLY way this could ever work is if you have five or six teacher aides in a classroom to give students individual attention, but then you have legal problems because these people are NOT certified teachers.
I am sure that if the administrators from schools and school systems across the US disappeared our students would be more successful. Most, not all, admins just get in the way of good teaching. Ironic how the people who get paid the highest salaries are the causes of corrupted and dysfunctional school systems.
Your video makes some good points. I appreciate the freedom you are encouraging to make fun and complain about what frustrates me.
I have almost 20 years experience. Differentiation a la “Little House on the Prairie”, worked because the students had the ability to obey rules and follow directions on their own. They knew if while Ms. Beadle was working with Mary and the Goody-Goody group Willie acted up he was punished appropriately while the rest of the group watched in stunned silence at his outrageous behavior. I literally must walk around to EVERY one of my 34 students when I assign a task to ‘remind’ them to get to work. By the time I reach student 34, students 1–33 are doing whatever. I am not a weak classroom manager either. I can not imagine trying to give a small group lesson for the advanced kids and expecting the lower performing ones to accomplish anything. It is impossible.…