Just when I thought my head was going to explode, overwhelmed with the depth of the reasons why we are stuck in our 19th century education framework, Jacobs offers a practical and reasonable place to begin reform...assessments. The five steps for upgrading assessments she suggests in Chapter 2, seem very reasonable and easy to implement. Inviting teachers to make at least one assessment replacement per semester makes the change less daunting. Taking it one step further, differentiation of the assessments could occur naturally in this model by having more than one required assessment type.
Even though we all know the only constant is change, we have all struggled with some aspect of change. I love the idea of looking at reform as a "growth model" because growth is "positive and deep."
I was educated in a 19th century style of teaching. I learned to be a teacher in a 19th century style of teaching. Now I need to step out of the box and become a 21st century thinker and teacher. Growth I can embrace, but where do I put the box?
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The box goes further out than we think it should. I like HH Jacobs reasoned place to start, but am concerned that it is too slow...once again.
ReplyDeleteDon't you wonder that schools might just be too slow and other ways of learning (that already exist) might just make schools obsolete?
I will be anxious to see where you put the fences around your educational box...to see how far out there it will sit!
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ReplyDeleteI agree, it may be too slow. But I am also wondering if some change is better than no change. I have been in schools where there is no leadership for change, so I need to make changes within my own classroom. Upgrading assessments seems like a good place to start.
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