I remember a study I read in grad school about which teaching methods were the most successful with students. The conclusion? Whatever method the teacher was most excited about.
States and districts are all about the latest gimmick method. They see a teacher or a district have some success with method X... and now they want everyone to replicate it.
The reality is this: if I have some success with an approach, that doesn't mean it will work for anyone else. It probably won't even work very long for me. What is working presently is something that can't be defined on a spreadsheet or within a bullet point. It is a mix of chemistry, personality, and creativity... that works in THIS moment, with THIS class, and THIS teacher, in THIS setting. Look at it too closely... and it's gone
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When I was a young kid, my state usually set the bar for our nation in standardized testing and our nation was near the top of the list in general. But since that time, it has been non-stop mandates to teach this way or that way. Not coincidentally, my state has fallen from the top to the middle of the pack and our nation has plunged like a rock to the bottom of the pack among industrialized nations. That wouldn't be so bad but the solution to this seems to have become even more stringent on teaching our children particular ways.
Ed- Yep... The powers that be are doubling down on systemizing education. The latest program that I have been charged with implementing is literally scripted. I am supposed to READ my instruction. Madness.
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