I've been surprised that these concepts of good middle level education have been kicking around for a long time. We're so entrenched in our current model of teaching that it is hard to wrap our heads around the idea of the student having some control without school spinning out of control. Besides our jobs, at least my future job, are at stake if it doesn't "work out."
Even if, in the middle of the night, our brains can make the cognitive shift, our wills defy the paradigm shift. That sun keeps flying over my head and while I see the math is right for Earth to orbit the sun, I don't want to believe it is true. Prove it. Put me in the rocket.
And that is what the National Middle School Association needs to do. Put teachers in the rocket and send them into orbit.
Imagine a traveling experimental classroom, perhaps in a trailer. Arrive at a school with an experienced teacher in this process, grab a handful of volunteer students and one volunteer teacher and "just do it" for 8 weeks. We need to learn from McDonald's marketing strategy. Sell to the children.
Glossy papers with fantastic graphics work well for the motivated, but how do you sell to the teacher who is happy with the way things are? Just like you would to a classroom of students. Learn by doing. Make it happen with minimal risks. The research is solid, but talk is cheap. Build a few rockets and get them airborne.
Hmmm...a good idea, but why can't we also build on the expertise that we already have in schools. I would hazard a guess that some of what we have been reading about in EDC 524 goes on in just about every school in this country. (Some is done under cover and very quietly, simply because teachers know it works better than the traditional stuff.)
ReplyDeleteI do like your idea of a traveling roadshow...but we also must have people willing to take some risks...and be leaders at the same time.
Kathy, you have a great line in here about being "entrenched in our current" teaching styles. I think you hit the nail on the head here. It goes back to that age old "fear of change" thing. We can see other classrooms where other styles work, but sometimes we can't let go of the things that work for us, even though it might be better for kids. It may take a personal leap of faith, which works out great if it is successful, but compounds the issue when it doesn't go well.
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