Four Random Things I'm Grateful For
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Four Random Things I'm Grateful For:
#1) That I seldom encountered coddled students in my long career--you know, the gritless wonders whose egos are "bloated" from all those unearned trophies and encouraging remarks from their teachers. I'm also grateful for teaching colleagues who regularly gave credit where credit was due and treated my own children with care and concern, rather than subscribing (as Sabrina Stevens says) to "this weird assumption that we have to make kids suffer in order to prepare them for life."
As for David Coleman, principal architect of the Common Core, and his remark that "rigorous standards will redefine self-esteem as something achieved through hard work"--I am curious about when self-esteem was ever defined, in schools, as looking the other was when kids slacked off. Not in my 30-year career. And the suggestion that content standards will somehow spur students to work harder is magic-bean territory.
#2) That I get regular opportunities to visit schools--and keep going into orderly buildings filled with
