What Should We Cut?
Someone asked me recently how I am able to respond to all student blogs, leave feedback for each child on the Google Docs and analyze which standards students are mastering. It sounds impressive on paper, but here’s a little secret: I’ve made cuts. Huge cuts. Massive cutbacks in what I do as a teacher.I don’t prep for lectures anymore. Instead, I think about how I will make lessons meaningful for students. I don’t input grades into the computer. Instead, I meet with students and we fill out our assessment grid together. I don’t have stacks of papers when students are working on in-depth projects. I don’t feel the need to do so much differentiated instruction when students are customizing their learning according to identity, interests and level of mastery.
I’m still on this journey of making cuts, but here are a few things I have managed to cut from my own classroom: