After listening to both Bruce Goodner last Thursday, and then Alan November today - I am SO energized...and challenged! I'm pretty sure I looked like a bobble head as both of these (what I consider to be) great minds shared their visions. Having said that, it occurs to me that there are probably many out there who heard their message, and thought something along the lines of, "This all sounds great, but it won't work with my kids because (fill in the blank with all the reasons why)." Truthfully, I understand that thinking, AND I wish we had the forum to discuss all the "Yeah, buts..." that exist - because there are plenty, I'm sure. Yet, I wholeheartedly believe that the ideas proposed by these two men are completely do-able (and, dare I say, necessary!), IF we replace the words "but it won't" with "how will it", and then convert the statement to a question. As we enter into this next school year, I encourage you to (1) put on those rose colored glasses, and (2) when faced with a new idea, ask yourself how it will work with your students.
2 comments:
Yeah but... just kidding... I am excited to redesign my delivery of teaching. Because it's new, I feel unprepared. I feel anxious. I'm trying to decide what type of materials to require. I teach English/LA Resource. If you have any suggestions, let me know.
Whoops! So sorry I didn't respond sooner - not sure how I missed this, but, to answer your question, it occurs to me that with kiddos like yours, where you have multiple levels and abilities, as well as IEPs for each student, it makes sense to teach the kids several "big rocks" that can be differentiated by ability (in other words, a student who is reading at a 1st grade level, and writing at the same level) will have a very different looking response to their book than will a student who is working at a sixth grade level. Once these are in place, then it becomes a matter of finding that work that students can do that address their individual needs, as well as the IEP objectives. To make this happen, the "big rocks" become your whole group lesson, and the others your small group/individual.
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