Teacher: The worst of "best practices"
This was written by Roxanna Elden, the author of See Me After Class: Advice for Teachers by Teachers. She teaches high-school English in Miami and is a National Board Certified Teacher. This piece explains how the push for teachers to use "best practices" can get out of hand, and it will make you both laugh and cry. It first appeared on Rick Hess’s blog, Straight Up, on the Education Week website. By Roxanna Elden District, county, and state education offices are fond of sharing "best practices" through professional development. The idea is to spread the word about strategies that work in some schools so other teachers can use these strategies and get the same great results. There are times when it works this way. Unfortunately, things can get complicated when the same people who pick and distribute best practices are also responsible for checking whether they are being done correctly,