For longer than a decade I've empowered my students via two of my personal favorite assertions: the power of good stories, and the power of asking good questions. So, today I'll begin with some questions and end with a story. And in the spirit of education and democracy, you can decide their worth.
These are the questions that I wish decision-makers would have asked during our two-year long quest to find an English curriculum.
Question No. 1: Dear educator, what are your major concerns about the SpringBoard workbook? The current National Council of Teachers of English president Carol Jago has spoken out against SpringBoard in favor of a curriculum that focuses on rigorous texts and actual content. "More is more when it comes to reading real literature," she says. "My 10th-grade students read 20 books a year - 10 in class and 10 more engaging books on their own." She went on to comment on (for lack of a better term) 21st-century workbooks like SpringBoard that appeal to students' tastes. "When you create the curriculum to pander to what students are interested in - pop culture - you stop doing what schools were intended to do."
Question No. 2: Dear educator, how does reading books in class differ from sending them home as assigned reading? There certainly are occasions where assigned reading at home is appropriate, but reading texts (especially complex ones) with my students allows me to have those teachable moments that cannot be duplicated when a student is reading alone. Furthermore, Nancie Atwell, considered by most to have literally and metaphorically written the book on teaching reading and writing, also believes in the importance of reading texts in class. When a teacher reads together with her students, several things are accomplished. "From my perspective as the teacher responsible for their literacy, my students become strong readers. They build fluency, stamina, vocabulary, confidence, critical abilities, habits, tastes, and comprehension. No instructional shortcut, packaged curriculum, new technology, regimen of tests, or other variety of magical thinking can achieve this end ... The opportunity for every student to sit quietly and become immersed in an actual book may not be high-tech, instantly quantifiable, or lucrative for the College Board. It just happens to be the only way that anyone ever became a reader."
Unfortunately, as stated by our very own director of curriculum and instruction, with the exclusive use of SpringBoard, teachers "would not be able to read a novel in class."
Question No. 3: Dear Educator, What are your concerns about the push for 21st-century skills? While we want to prepare our students for 21st-century living, we should be careful not to let those skills outweigh the basic skills also needed to survive in our ever-demanding future. I am not alone in my concern. U.S. News and World Report said, "Unfortunately, some 21st-century skills proponents believe these skills should replace the teaching of content. They believe that because so much new knowledge is being created, students should focus on how to know instead of knowing. This view threatens to reopen a debate in American education that is not new either: content pitted against critical thinking rather than the two complementing each other." I would argue that we can't ask students to find meaning or relevance in The American Revolution or The American Dream, for that matter, if they don't understand what those events and concepts actually are. The Boston Globe cited similar concerns. "For over a decade we have numbed the brains of teachers with endless blather about process and abstract thinking skills. But we have ignored what matters most. We have neglected to teach them that one cannot think critically without quite a lot of knowledge to think about." And if learning how to watch a commercial or how to write an effective Tweet supercedes how to write an analytical essay or read a classic novel, I am deeply concerned about the priorities of those who fight for 21st-century skills to dominate the classroom.
Once upon a time I worked in a school district where administrative personnel visited my classroom to comment on the quality of a lesson, not to simply check whether it came from a red textbook or a blue one. Once upon a time I was considered to be a professional and was therefore called upon to lend my professional expertise about what I thought was best for kids. Once upon a time our data-driven district based decisions on results, not pre-conceived notions and incomplete textbook adoptions. Once upon a time I worked in a district where teachers and students were not pitted against each other as a result of a divisive, controversial curriculum. Once upon a time we didn't purchase educational materials from a company that churns out products that they admit are inferior, then change them, then require more expensive training to "fix" the teacher, not their own faulty product. And once upon a time, I collaborated with other teachers about great classroom practices instead of receiving e-mails from colleagues in other districts where similar SpringBoard adoption debacles have caused discord among teachers, students, and parents. (Conduct a simple Google search about other school districts around the country who are in the midst of SpringBoard-related turmoil and some who have finally abandoned it altogether.) Fortunately for us, the narrative arc of our story is incomplete, and we can still come together to make a decision that focuses on moderation, compromise, and logic, rather than an educational fad that will eventually wear out right alongside the fashionable clothes in our students' closets. This product is significantly more expensive than a regular textbook curriculum, and in these trying economic times, that purchase should be justified by results. If the school board votes for SpringBoard on Tuesday, prepare for a steady decline in the performance of students across our great district. If you care about our students, voice your concerns by contacting Douglas County School Board members before the Tuesday meeting.
Elizabeth Leiknes is an English teacher at Carson Valley Middle School
