Most teachers, including myself, feel that standards are a significant part of the learning process. They help keep our students on track. They help us organize and develop our curriculum and our yearly scope and sequence. Students then take tests
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“Accomplished English language arts teachers carefully and intentionally design and manage all aspects of the learning environment, from the physical space and the physical resources within it, to the movement of people and objects, the personal relationships within the environment,
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My friends tease me about my stash of office supplies that I constantly carry, sticky notes raining in my wake as I walk and highlighters filling every pocket. My house looks like Mission Control as binders bristling with sticky flags
Read MoreI know I have written about this topic before, the relationship between standards and standardization, instructional innovation and teaching for creativity, and standardized tests, but I am going to take another go at it, because this year I changed levels
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For the first time in my career, I am required to turn in detailed typed daily lessons each week, and they are reviewed each week in detail by an administrator and academic coach. Catch me on a cranky day, and
Read MoreI had a lovely Mother's Day, thank you. A word root for "mother" is embedded in much language surrounding education: matrix, matriculation, alma mater. To begin to reflect on this phenomenon, one must retreat into a bit of metaphorical thinking.
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