14 Reasons Teachers Give for NOT Implementing Alternative Educational Methods!

 By L. G. Sanchez, MEDL - Teacher-Trainer

The things that have been most valuable to me I did not learn in school. Traditional education is based on facts and figures and passing tests - not on a comprehension of the material and its application to your life. ~Will Smith

    At every educational conference, I have given and presented the practical ideas on the implementation of alternative, non-traditional education, it is almost predictable that I will receive the question, “Wow! This is great! Why doesn’t everybody do this?” There are many answers to this question.

But first, there’s the “But Sanchez…!” moment

    When I give conferences on the implementation of non-traditional education, invariably a teacher will raise his or her hand and say, “This is all very good and nice, BUT Sanchez, our situation is different!,” or “ I like the concept, BUT Sanchez, you just don’t know our students (or parents, or administration, or any of 1000’s of other reasons why they can’t do this.) When I hear the BUT Sanchez moment, I have to agree with them. It won’t work… because that mentality itself breeds defeat. It has defeat embedded within it and no matter what they do, since they are geared to defeat, it is what they will achieve.

    Also, as a practitioner of a non-traditional methodology, you will be frequently criticized. It is important to know that when people do not understand something, their first and immediate reaction is to criticize and attack. This is a reaction that stems from ignorance (ignorance simply means the lack of knowledge). Alternative education practitioners have tons of studies supporting the ideas I present to other educators and should welcome the opportunity to engage in healthy communication with others. This is how we will change education.

1.     Resistance to Change

    To successfully implement this (or any other options), you must be fully committed. You must first of all be convinced that traditional education is not the answer. If you waver on that, you will be the first to give up when you encounter difficulty. “See, it doesn’t work!” or “Ha, I knew it wasn’t going to work!” We all know teachers who have been teaching for years… the dinosaurs who are set in their ways and unwilling to modify their teaching methods to encompass the new needs of our students. I have met a few and I have worked with a few (and continue to work with a few…more than I would like to admit). It is a battle to get them to concede to try. However, I have seen these same traditionally-minded teachers begin to smile again and enjoy their classes when they implement the simple strategies and follow the system.

    I firmly believe that every person who enters the field of teaching does so with an altruistic motive. Circumstances and situations may have changed this motive as the years passed. But it is a glorious thing to see and hear teacher testimonies about how this method changed their teaching forever, how it restored their joy and pleasure for a vocation that is the most fulfilling, both spiritually and emotionally.

    However, many teachers are resistant to change. They teach the way they were taught. Sometimes these kinds of teachers don't adapt easily to changes.

    Although some teachers do find activities work to be "messy" because they aren't in total control of their students' every step -- they learn to use project management practices to make the work time productive. It is important to teach students how to work well in teams, manage time and tasks, conduct an inquiry, and use formative assessment to improve their products. For teachers only used to direct instruction, it may be challenging at first to manage students working in teams and handle the open-mindedness of activity learning, but with more experience it gets easier. Teaching in a non-traditional, alternative environment does not mean giving up all traditional practices; there's still room for teacher-directed lessons, mini-lectures, textbooks, and even the occasional worksheets, albeit minimal. This system may not be for everybody, but almost every teacher who sticks with it say they would never go back to traditional teaching.

    To accept these ideas and implement them requires, for some, a total and complete paradigm shift. This paradigm shift is not easy to do, but when done, the results are truly gratifying.

2.     Little Administrative support

    Other teachers tell me that they have little to no administrative support. This, unfortunately, is a requisite for success, even if just on the individual teacher level. I have met teachers whose schools would not allow the implementation of non-traditional methods. These antiquated schools are sure to fall by the wayside as the field of education continues to grow and adapt these and many more options. However, usually if you explain what you are doing, the administrators will allow you to work the non-traditional system because it invariably brings the desired results, both academically and in student satisfaction.

3.     You need to wait for permission

   It is always good to share the process with the leaders and explain how it leads to deeper learning and better skills. It helps to share how the activities align with the standards. But sometimes teachers will wait for permission. They’ll wait for that principal to come along and say, “We’re going to try alternative education as a school.” You can spend years believing this lie. Waiting for permission or encouragement or that “perfect time” is a bad idea when what you really just need is to take the leap and make it happen.

4.     Constant Training

    An important point of the system I promote is the need for continual training and teacher meetings for sharing and testimonials. That is why the Weekly Team Meetings (FOST - Facilitator Open Sharing Time) are important. It is the time to refresh your battery as you share new strategies, express and discuss any difficulties you may be experiencing, and offer space for teachers to share a testimony of the experiences they are having with the system. Remember, this no-traditional system is not just a band-aid. It is a system that will change your teaching completely. It will bring results that you have only dreamed of. Students will be inspired. Parents will be happy that their kids are happy. The facilitator will enjoy teaching. The administration will see fewer disciplinary problems (always a good thing), better student engagement and achievement, and a better feeling and atmosphere in the school community.

5.     Teachers Unwilling to Surrender Control

    This is the Number One difficulty with teachers at the moment of implementing the alternative, non-traditional system. The system requires the facilitator to not be in control of the learning process. Suddenly the stress of meeting standards and accountability comes into play. It can be difficult. However, today’s young students have the capacity to learn on their own and to not only fulfill the expected outcomes but truly surpass them.

    6. Some teachers like being "in control."

They feel that if their students are quiet, they are in control of the classroom. They also like being the center of attention (the power) and being the source of information. It gives them a sense of importance. My response to this objection is the following:  As a teacher, are we here for our own ego and self-worth or are we here to help students learn and do what is best for our students? If you answer to help students learn and do what is best for them, then allow them to learn, rather than teach them (these are not the same thing!).

    I often hear people describe the need for “controlled chaos” when doing the System. One teacher said, “You have to be comfortable with a lot of noise and movement.” Unfortunately, some students are introverted. They need spaces of quiet. The system I promote provides ways for introverted students to thrive in collaborative projects. I realized that I needed to create ways to guarantee that every student participated in creative collaboration. In other words, you can have a well-managed classroom and still do activities learning.

    This type of learning doesn’t mean you have to slip into a total free-for-all. The goal is to have structures in place that inspire and facilitate creativity. These include structures for inquiry, for research, for ideation, for revision, for peer feedback, for self-assessment, for project management, and for metacognition. The best structures inspire rather than limit, the creative process.

7.     Planning Takes Time

    Yes, it does. Just as any other worthwhile venture does. However, the more you do it, the easier it becomes. What they do not realize, even when we have told them, is that you get that time back when you are working the System because your students are all fully engaged and working in the classroom.

8.     Teachers are Just Too Busy

    Some teachers are so busy just trying to keep their heads above water that they do not have time to think about ways to change. That is precisely why this non-traditional system is for you. It gives you the step-by-step guidance so you can make your classes much more effective, more fun and more engaging. It makes you more efficient with your time and effective in both teaching and your students' learning. You don’t want to be a teacher who just barely keeps his head about water, you want to be that teacher whose students thrive and grow!

9.     What Will I Do in Class?

    Some teachers wonder, what if I apply this non-traditional system and my students are taking control of their learning, what will I do in class? This is a great question. You need to understand your role as Facilitator. YOU are the single most important element in the non-traditional system. A Facilitator that engages students and makes the classroom fun, while enhancing students' learning, is highly valued by students and administrators, and much more difficult to replace. The possibilities are endless, but some teachers are afraid to answer the question.

10. Other Teachers Will Think I am Strange

    Listen carefully! You are strange! You allow the student to take control of his own education. That is strange! You allow the student to become engaged in a multitude of different ways. You are strange! You are not in the front teaching, but rather walking around watching what your kids are doing. You are strange! Hey, strange is good! We have already come to the conclusion that normal teaching does not achieve the desired results. Heck, we should all be strange!

11. We Have No Time for It

    Time is limited. That much is true. However, is the time in the classroom truly productive for our students? Are they genuinely learning or are they memorizing meaningless and useless facts that they repeat verbatim on an exam and forget? Are they just learning unimportant data ad nauseum? Or, are you truly a catalyst the inspires a child to genuinely learn what he/she finds pertinent? Are your students discovering new things every day? Are you creating learning environments that allow students to learn in the multitude of learning styles they have? Are they preparing themselves with the skills set required for future success?

12. Kids won’t pass the test.

    Research studies and common sense indicates that students who are engaged in their classroom, using the strategies offered by the System, will result in higher student outcomes. I work in a high-stakes environment and my students were always toward the top on standardized tests. I’m totally sympathetic to the teachers on this one. I hate the test. I hate the pressure that comes with testing. I hate the fact that teachers are being judged by such unreliable metrics. However, I can declare that engaged students are students who learn more and they will (and do) pass the tests.

    In well-designed non-traditional activities, students gain content knowledge and academic skills as well as learn how to solve problems, work in teams, think creatively, and communicate their ideas.

13. The Strategies Cause Problems

    Some may say that the strategies themselves cause problems in the classroom, both academic and disciplinary.

    For example, a popular reaction to activities-based learning is that it creates discipline problems and renders the teacher helpless in controlling the noise level and appropriate conversations in the classroom. Another problem occurs when selecting groups. Some students might have problems with working with others when the groups are teacher selected. However, if the teacher allows the students to form their own groups the results can be just as adverse. Groups may form of all low or high achievers or groups could form because of distinct ethnic groups or color. Student selecting can also bring about feelings of hostility or hurt when students are the last to be selected and placed in a group. I answer all these points and, in reality, makes them moot. 

    If this is the class’s first experience with cooperative learning, it may take a few tries to effectively use this learning style in the classroom. It is a strange transition from a transitional and competitive way of learning to a more innovative and collaborative style of learning for the student. In this situation, the procedures and social skills necessary for effective group work need to be taught to the students. However, since it is a more natural way of working for students, they catch on fairly quickly. The System takes you step by step toward achieving this in a relatively short time. What is totally unnatural is to have students sitting alone, isolated at their desks, which is what we have done in education for well over 100 years.

14. FEAR

Fear is a major deterrent that keeps us from fulfilling our lives. It places seemingly insurmountable obstacles before us and fills us with with seemingly viable excuses as to why we cannot find success. To lay these fears to rest, it is important for one to seek the truth. For example, there are innumerable studies attesting to the success of alternative, non-traditional educational methods. I am, and always have been, a "meat and potatoes" man, a "show me the money!" character. Everything included in the System is both evidence-based and data-driven. There is no question as to whether it will work. It will work when appropriately implemented. That is why training and understanding are so crucial. Today's teacher education programs are failing to produce the type of teachers needed by today's students. Fear can paralyze even the best of us, placing doubts in our minds and preventing us from acting on what we know is correct.

    Although mastering the alternative, non-traditional system I promote takes work and effort for both the teacher and the students, once the goal is attained, it can prove to be a powerful, worthwhile and unforgettable experience for the entire class. When compared to the results we are obtaining with traditional education, it is actually much easier. In a time of demanding expectations and insufficient resources for schools, we should not turn our backs on such an effective way of teaching our students.

    Therefore, we should run and embrace alternative, non-traditional education as the wave, not of the future, but of the present. Today’s student craves it, they yearn for it, they desire it. If we are to succeed and elevate our educational system, we must meet the demands of our students. There really is no choice.

About the author: L. G. Sanchez has been promoting alternative, non-traditional education for over 20 years and has written a practical step-b-step book on its implementation. Feel free to contact me at any time to share and discuss ideas and/or ask any questions or doubts you may have about the implementation of these methods.