In the last few days, I have received several responses to my new blog. I am so thrilled that I have finally found an outlet to share some of my ideas and experiences and to know that my words will be received by my colleagues.
I am concerned, however, at the tone that a few of the comments have taken. The words of frustration and hopelessness are not the responses I hoped to receive from my new network of fellow teacher-bloggers.
My first response, that I shared with Joel Heffner, was to recognize that there are many teachers out there who have not had the same positive experiences and innovative conversations that I have. I believe I said as much in my initial blog post, while still sharing my firm belief that the dialogue in teaching is changing for many educators.
In thinking deaper, I have a few more ideas to add to the discussion.
Firstly, I stand in defense of Backward/Intelligent Design because I believe it gives teachers the tools necessary to pair down the standards to the most essential few. In my experiences with this form of curriculum design, the first step is to identify a few priority standards and main ideas that a teacher could reasonably take on in a year. This type of instruction makes teaching and learning more manageable because there is a clear focus and plan for the curriculum, which both the teacher and the students remain aware of.
And, to those skeptical few, I will mention that I have never had a professor, colleague, or administrator advocate for teaching all the standards at once. In fact, they tend to believe that such an endeavor is not only impractical for the teacher, but it is to the detriment of the students.
Secondly, I recognize that teachers receive little support, either through legislation or community outreach, in their meaningful endeavors (refer to the post on Secretary Spellings’ comments on the Daily Show). I also recognize that teachers work with large numbers of students, unrealistic liturgies of standards, and issues of student discipline or motivation. My own teaching circumstances are no different. I simply maintain that innovative and thoughtful teachers are finding new and dynamic ways to negotiate these issues.
Many thanks to those commentors who offered thoughtful and constructive feedback. I appreciate the open and positive dialogue.