Matt Hanner

[Sarah Donarski @s_donarski]

Learning is:
1) Retention - the ability to recall information or perform a skill over the long term, and
2) Transfer - the ability to apply the knowledge across a number of relevant situations.

[Matt Hanner @hannermms]

There are so many mixed messages in education that it can be confusing. Ex is the teacher needs to conform to a certain teaching style yet those same people think students should not comply since they are not learning. Another is using the scripted curriculum versus engagement.

[Matt Hanner @hannermms]

@jenteach13 Trying to do everything that admin/district wants you to do and it’s never enough and you won’t be proficient at all of the things anyway. I have learned over the years that I have to do things that directly impacts kids’ learning and sometimes that goes against what they want…

[Matt Hanner @hannermms]

@ThrillaRilla369 None here. It was expected to do well or at least to do my best. Now a days.. I have had students, who get straight Fs, get expensive new clothes or new expensive shoes that I can afford now as an adult, but my parents would not have spent that much on either one.

[Matt Hanner @hannermms]

@SimBadd18 Yes!! 🙌 I don’t understand it either… if anything have both as an option!! I agree though.. send the link!

[SoL in the Wild @SoLInTheWild]

I’d love to quote this entire piece. I’ll admit that not too long ago, I was a “progressive” teacher myself. The problem I encountered time and time again was an ongoing focus on so many things that had little to do with improving actual pedagogy. The furniture, pronouns, wall displays, flexible seating, grading practices, homework bans, learning styles, makerspaces, SEL initiatives, classroom aesthetics, care carts, student choice in everything, and countless other debates often took center stage.

What made it frustrating was that these issues generally had little to no impact on student learning. Meanwhile, while so much energy was being spent debating and defending these ideas, students were missing out because there wasn’t a deliberate focus on improving the quality of instruction itself. Discussions about curriculum coherence, explicit instruction, retrieval practice, prior knowledge, and cognitive load were non-existent.

The most meaningful gains in student learning come from refining our teaching methods and deepening our understanding of how learning works and not from constantly revisiting the peripheral details of the classroom.

[Greg Ashman @greg_ashman]

I taught remotely in covid and this is what I know.

We were *desperate* to get back into a classroom. All of us. Kids, teachers. We would wear any ridiculous mask to do it. We would stand on one leg if that was the rule.

This makes me sceptical that screens will replace teachers anytime soon.

[Jen @jenteach13]

When I say let the teacher close her door and teach, I mean stop pulling her out of her classroom for a meeting that could have been an email. I mean stop interrupting her third period with an announcement that could have waited until lunch. I mean stop scheduling professional development during her prep time on a topic that has nothing to do with the students sitting in front of her. I mean stop asking her to serve on four committees, complete three surveys, attend two trainings, and submit a reflection on her growth as an educator, all in the same week she is trying to figure out why one of her kids has not eaten today. The best thing that happens in a school happens in that room between that teacher and those kids. Every time we pull her out of it for something that serves the institution instead of the students, we are making a very clear statement about what we think actually matters. Close the door. Let her teach.

[Barry Smith @BarryNSmith79]

Schools often teach following are ok: arrive late, be absent; hide in toilets; wander corridors; be late from break; ignore instructions; be argumentative; lie; be aggressive; bully; claim you’re anxious/special for personal gain. No evidence.

[Jen @jenteach13]

Nobody talks about the kid who cannot read at grade level but gets promoted anyway because holding him back is uncomfortable. He arrives in my room two years behind. The system passed him. The system lied to him. And now he is sitting in my class, wondering why none of it makes sense.

[The Principal’s Office @educator4ever36]

When will we acknowledge that not every teacher position is equal in scope and workload, and we should absolutely be paying the science and math teachers more than the PE and Art teachers?

[Fixing Education @FixingEducation]

Just because a teacher disagrees with a grading scale or PBIS or restorative justice or unions or the idea that teachers should be martyrs doesn’t mean they don’t want what’s best for kids.

Too many admins and teachers automatically assume bad intentions when someone disagrees.

In many cases, it’s not about helping kids at all. It’s about bullying people into conformity.

[Matt Hanner @hannermms]

@anymanfitness I’m one that has said no a lot since Covid and higher ups think negative and not willing to do things for kids which is far from truth! So I see why teachers feel that they have to do it all! Also, every district/school is different, so your experience may have been different

[Matt Hanner @hannermms]

@anymanfitness By the way, the system almost expects you to do work from home because it thinks teachers have all this time during the school day.. when I’m managing behavior, sitting in meetings during plan, documenting everything on what I did because it’s justifying someone else’s job, and..

[Matt Hanner @hannermms]

@anymanfitness When you think your done with all of this stuff that has nothing to do with teaching kids, then you get more stuff to do because you are good at it and became efficient at teaching (grades, planning, increase your test scores) because the system thrives on people who do more..

[Matt Hanner @hannermms]

@anymanfitness When you taught last, but since Covid, the education system has been going down hill. There’s a lot of political and other agendas being promoted from the education system that doesn’t help kids. So I wish I could just go to work, grade, plan, teach and then leave at 3 pm.

[Matt Hanner @hannermms]

@anymanfitness Then on top of that, the system brings in coaches to “help you” get test scores back up.. and they force you to teach a certain way that doesn’t help kids with learning. Mind you, my test scores improve with what kids come to me with prior to me teaching them.. I’m not sure..