More and more when I travel, I hear teachers share stories
of scripted curriculum programs they are expected to follow in their schools. Often schools and districts are so concerned
with high-stakes standardized tests, they seek uniform means
for providing instruction to students. Many
schools and districts do this because they don’t trust teachers to be
professionals. Other schools do this
because they think it’s a quick fix answer to their low test scores. Does a standardized approach to education provide
students what they need to be successful in the 21st century and
beyond? Is a standardized approach to
instruction what we really want?
No! We don’t. Evidence of this not being what we want was unmistakable
at the Kentucky Council of Teachers of English/Language Arts (KCTE/LA) annual
conference, which concluded only hours ago.
This year’s conference theme was Literacy
Matters: The Common Core and Beyond.
Professional conferences like this provide occasion for
educators to refuel and network so they can return to schools energized and
ready to provide students creative and critical opportunities to learn, and so
they can be more connected to other educators.
Personally, I am on a creative high after hearing Sara Kajder discuss
digital literacies and after hearing Kentucky’s poet laureate, Maureen
Morehead, read her poetry. Not only did
I hear these well-established authors, I also heard Kentucky teachers talk
about best practices in their classrooms.
The showcased sessions were not teachers sharing the page number they
were covering in a scripted program.
Exciting session titles included “What’s the Big Idea? The Real Purpose of Literature in Society and
the Classroom,” and “The Power of Narrative in Writing and Teaching.”
I had the joy of reconnecting with a teacher I first met a
couple of years ago; this teacher shares the passion I have for promoting
creativity in education. This all has
me thinking about what we can do to stop
squashing creativity in education.
With creative and thoughtful planning of time and resources, there’s no
reason why schools couldn’t and shouldn’t do these five things.
- Let students study and explore topics that interest them
- Let students use their own technology devices to enhance their learning
- Let students make mistakes
- Allow more time for the arts, physical education, and recess
- Allow more time for creating, performing, dreaming, and thinking
In future posts, I will explore these ideas more fully and
offer suggestions for how schools can pragmatically approach ways to stop squashing
creativity. If you have your own ideas,
please share them here so we can all learn from one another.
