Don’t drown in the education reform Sea.
Do you show up to your classroom, every single day, ready to influence the lives of your students? Do you arrive at your school building, every single day, ready to change the trajectory of your students’ lives? Do you wish to become a teacher that some student…someday…somewhere will always remember? If so, be careful not to drown in the sea of circular education reform diatribes.
Yes, I know, proponents of education reforms place too much emphasis on data. Although data is important, students are definitely more than vanity metrics. And. Yes, I know, opponents of current trends in education reform, i.e. VAMs, school choice, charter schools, etc., place too much emphasis on corporations. Although corporations are investing in education, this doesn’t mean all corporations are evil.
Such ongoing debates produce low-hanging fruit. The truth is this: our day-to-day roles and responsibilities lay within our control. We decide what’s best for my students. We decide how to introduce a lesson. We decide how to align an activity for further enrichment. We decide how to assess student mastery. We decide how to manage classroom behaviors. In other words, our classrooms are our domains.
Now, before you accuse me of “sitting on the fence,” please note that I ‘m pro-teacher, pro