Depth vs. Breadth

Next week we have our first batch of exams; the nine week's exams. To be completely honest, I don't think my students are ready for them. In the past 9 nines, we've only covered three and a half chapters in Physical Science, a rather slow pace if you ask me. I have read, time and time again, in various education books, that many public high school teachers teach "a mile wide, but only an inch deep." My goal over the last 15 months of my teaching career has been to erase that stereotype, even if it's on a small scale. Because I go above and beyond the textbook, it takes me quite a bit longer to cover the material. I think it is a fair price to pay; however, I do sometimes wonder if teaching more in-depth is best for ALL of my students. I have a handful of students who are very bright and have a strong work ethic. These students seem to appreciate the depth with which I cover topics. The majority of my students, however, seem to be in school only because they have to be. They don't want to learn any more than what is absolutely necessary. If a topic isn't in the textbook, they resist with all their might. And then I have the handful of students that I really worry about. These are the students who consistently tell me they are dropping out the second they can and may or may not pursue their GED. For these students, it doesn't matter what I teach them or how I teach them, they don't seem to care.

So the vast majority of students resist my attempts to go above and beyond. Because of this obvious fact, last week I resolved that I would stick to the textbook, speed up a bit and see if most of my students could do better. I tried it for the week, and they still complained. It was as if I didn't make a single change. I was so frustrated. Then one student changed it all. It was a student I had last year, a trouble maker who seemed to never pay attention. I remembered he barely passed my class with a 71%. I found him standing in my door way after school. He informed me that he was taking chemistry and that it was "so easy" because he hadn't learned anything new yet. Everything they were covering in chemistry had been already explained to him in Physical Science. He spoke of electron configurations (a topic with which many students struggle) coming to him right away. He said that he was the only student in the class that had recognized a Lewis dot structure. Best of all, he said, "And it's all because I took your class last year, Mr. Lochen."

It's moments like these that give me a greater sense of purpose. Believe me, they don't come often but when they do, these moments make me feel like I'm actually making a small difference. So, I am reverting back to my former teaching strategy (after the nine week's test) and I'm going to continue to teach topics with more depth than breadth because maybe, just maybe, students will come to appreciate it and achieve more as a result of it, in time.