Teachers, Lesson Plans, and the Student: Conflicting Federal and State Standards

"'That's the reason they're called lessons,' the Gryphon remarked: `because they lessen from day to day" (Carol, 2005). Secondary School Teachers are quickly becoming overwhelmed and losing site of their goals due to complex Federal and State standards. The objective must be understandable to the student yet meet the requirements of 'No Child Left Behind' and the accompanying rules of each state. The result is that fewer and fewer teachers are creating their own lesson plans and are instead turning to prepackaged sources for their materials. How can a teacher in the classroom satisfy conflicting Local, State and
Federal Guidelines and not be 'Mad as a Hatter'?

Taking the Mystery out of Lesson Plans and Curriculum

Lesson Plans and Curriculum seem like a mysterious foreign language for those who are unaccustomed to the terminology utilized within educational circles. State standards are based on National guidelines but they may either meet or exceed those goals. The resultant system of varying guidelines from State to state has been very confusing to teachers who simply want to utilize existing curricula and teach the student what they need to know to thrive in our society. Junior Achievement grew into that niche and became a source for Business courses that met or exceeded state guidelines in all fifty states. What Junior Achievement does is prepackage state standards for the teachers by supplying lesson plans, books and materials designed to meet the standards for individual courses in each state. However, both Curriculum and Lesson plans are fairly easy to understand if you begin by examining how the words are used in the field of education.

What is Curriculum?

"Curriculum has been defined in various ways. Throughout most of the history of education, Curriculum consisted of the basic skills of reading, writing , and mathematical computation at the primary or elementary level, and the arts or sciences at the secondary and higher levels" (Gutek, 1997, p. 5). In other words, curriculum is more or less a collection of subjects taught in a consistent manner. Recently, this viewpoint has expanded so that Educators now include prior experience and related school centered activities in any definition of curricula. Overall, curriculum has expanded to become "the organized experiences that a student has under the guidance and control of the school" (Gutek, 1997, p. 5).

Parental Role?

What about the role of the parent? More modern definitions of Curriculum take considerable care to include the idea of prior experience but the importance of the home learning environment is most often stressed in primary or elementary levels. Educational theory places less importance on the home environment as the child grows older because the child has more and more school experiences. I.E.: Curriculum gradually becomes more and more intertwined with school experiences and less with home experiences. Teachers tend to rely on the assumption that students will have common experiences and lesson plans created along common goals and guidelines.

What are Lesson Plans?

Lesson plans are the teacher's detailed outline for any given area of curriculum. In this sense, lesson plans are a tool met to keep the teacher on track for a particular subject. There are several formats for lesson plans but typical plans cross reference to State Standards, include a list of materials to be used, provide a detailed breakdown of student activities for the particular plan and attempt to define how the teacher will measure progress from the beginning to the end of the lesson plan. Teachers used to be somewhat involved in the creation of lesson plans but teacher involvement has reduced over the years due to the complexity of State and Federal Standards. Today, it can be argued that most teachers simply adapt existing lesson plans to the needs of their class.

What Happens When a Teacher No Longer has Input About the Lesson Plan?

How many people have watched a speaker give a speech to an audience? Polished speakers can quickly adapt to almost any speech but less experienced speakers need to be involved in the preparation of their speech. Teachers have always fought for respectability in the classroom and part of that respectability stems from having some input over what they teach. "Teacher knowledge of the subject is necessary but not sufficient for effective teaching because being more knowledgeable helps teachers to be clearer and more organized. Teachers who provide clear presentations and explanations tend to have students who learn more and who rate their teachers more positively" (Woolfolk, 2005, p. 451). In other words, demonstrable knowledge of a given subject area is critical but there are other factors at work in the classroom. Teachers who are active in the design and creation of their lesson plan will have a positive impact on their students. However, the teacher's role in the development of individual lesson plans has diminished and - in addition - is further reduced as the student moves from the Elementary to the Secondary Grades.

So?

What happens as guidelines become more conflicted and the role of the teacher in the planning process is further reduced? In many subjects, students rely on feedback from the teacher. The teacher's real or perceived expectations of the student contribute towards the student's drive to increase their study time or progress to the next course. Basically, "Teacher warmth, friendliness, and understanding seem to be traits most strongly related to positive student attitudes" (Woolfolk, 2005, p.452). Teachers who are most involved with the design of their lesson plan and allowed to participate in the construction of curricula will transmit this attitude towards their students.

In conclusion, the purpose of student-teacher interaction is not a one way method of communication. Teachers and students need to grow from the classroom experience. Growth in the modern classroom is difficult if not impossible within existing guidelines. In fact, many Educators are wondering whether high schools have outgrown their design and need to be rebuilt. The Gates Foundation has been working with various schools to create smaller schools and communities within the larger structure of the high school. Whether or not the smaller school approach can offset the diminishing role of the teacher in the classroom is a matter for additional research.

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Gutek, G. (1997). Philosophical and Ideological Perspectives on Education (2^nd Ed.).Needham

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