Scrambling for Voice, Choice, and Agency
5th release in this serial story; 675 words; about 3 minutes of reading
From: Chance
great meeting-thanks
To: Kerry sent - Gmail at 9:57 PM
Hi Kerry–
It was great to get together. Thanks so much for all your support. Your words helped me remember why I decided to be a teacher. Thanks for reminding me that Stan is just one person, and that I should not give up my lifelong dream of being a teacher because of one person who thinks that standards are more important than the kids.
I have started teaching from the new 5th grade social studies curriculum that was adopted by the district last year. While I was very enthusiastic about it when I first looked at it, I’m not so sure about it now. I’m not sure how the kids are going to learn all of this material in one year…especially since I am so dedicated to experiential learning.
The new curriculum is not based on a textbook, so I like that part……but I am overwhelmed with the amount of material that I am supposed to study before teaching a unit of study.
Here is an example of what I am talking about:
The first Unit of Study covers the Westward Expansion. The kids are supposed to learn what led to the growth of the country and be able to talk about the lasting implication of the expansion. I keep wondering if the curriculum developers forgot that 5th graders are ten years old.
To prepare for the one-hour lesson about the Louisiana Purchase, I am supposed to read an entire book, watch two YouTubes, understand a graph I am supposed to show the kids, and then assess the kid’s prior knowledge.
During the lesson, I am supposed to remember to cover three priority state social studies standards and keep in mind nineteen supporting standards.
All of my preparation leads to a one hour lesson…one hour! Are the curriculum developers mad??
…and then the next day, it all repeats itself with the lesson about Lewis and Clark.
Again, I’m supposed to accomplish all of the teaching and learning in one hour. At least, they give me two hours for The Trail of Tears.
I’ve got to go…I still have to read a book and watch a YouTube before I go to bed…
Chance
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From: Kerry
Re: great meeting-thanks
To: Chance sent - Gmail 6:23 AM
Hi Chance—
I hope you got some sleep last night. It is certainly ridiculous to think that you are going to have the time to do all of that research for a one hour lesson.
Your email has me thinking about open-ended curriculums versus using a textbook. Which approach is better? The answer is murky and unclear.
Open-ended curriculums like the one the district adopted for your 5th grade class seem more friendly and responsive to teaching and learning. I always try to teach in a way that combats dry and dull textbooks.
All textbooks have their own bias. Did you know that the exact same textbook can be published using different words and ideas and omissions depending on which state adopted it?
I was shocked to discover that textbooks by the same publisher are not telling the same story about this country. A textbook adopted in California might tell a certain story about the 2nd Amendment and the same textbook (same publisher, same cover, same title) teaches a different story in Texas.
It is no wonder that we are living in a divided country. What are the consequences of facts being presented in different ways in different US History classes in high school depending on where the students live? Worse, the students are presented with no suggestion that history can be interpreted in different ways and still be accurate.
I don’t have any more time to talk about textbooks and curriculums this morning……even though I wish the two of us were assigned the task of solving this very vexing problem……Who would listen to what we recommend? Why don’t people listen to teachers?
I must go prepare for an after school meeting with Wanda about teacher evaluation.
Tonight, I’ll fill you in on the meeting.
Kerry