Lucy Calkins
When I read text about the mechanics of writing workshop, I spend a lot of time concentrating on how teachers organize their space and time. I was comforted by:
How we structure the workshop is less important than that we structure it.--Calkins, p. 188
Also, I was empowered by someone, anyone, writing about throwing away ineffective, outdated curriculum.
If we, as teachers, want to move on, we need to take carloads of curricula to the dump. It is only by cleaning out some of the old things that we can give time and space to the new ones.—Calkins, p. 187
I want to type this quote out, take it to Kinkos, print it on a banner, and hang it in our curriculum director’s office. We were handed so many new things that some of the old are going to have to go. Not once has my district said to me that these materials are meant to replace those materials. It is always a matter of adding additional requirements in to the ring to fight for classroom time. To see a quote about this in someone’s writing is the start to a larger community movement. We need to admit, to ourselves and the world at large, we can’t do everything. This includes squeezing anymore in without some housekeeping. Our students’ learning is fragmented enough.
Resume
12 years ago
3 comments:
It is interesting how we prioritize the "power standards" and create "curiculum ladders", and it all comes down to the same problem of having 50 minutes a day to maximize learning.
I agree that we need to continually reflect on the "old stuff" to determine whether we still consider it to be effective. It is truly the only way to be able to use our new understandings and ideas. However, we need to be backed up by our administrators. In the past I have photocopied quotes such as this, highlighted the pertinent sections, and put it in administrators' mailboxes with a note saying that I would welcome the opportunity to discuss the issue. I believe that as teachers we need to advocate for the issues we believe in.
I was teaching fifth grade and the new kept coming in and the old didn't go away. That was when I moved to middle school to focus on one content. I could not keep up with the old and the new. I am going to remember that quote also!
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