Week 1 Reflection

Week 1 has really gotten me thinking about the different schools that I have been a part of over the course of my educational experiences.  Both as a teacher and as a student.  I have mostly had experience with smaller more rural school districts so I'm sure that has shaped my experiences differently than others who have had more experience with larger districts.  I feel like for the most part the systems I have known have been there for the purpose of preparing students for their future- be it a job or college education.  When I was in high school it was just assumed that you would be attending a college.  The question was never "are you going to college?"  but rather "where". 

My current district however has felt a shift in our focus to more student centered learning.  The push has been to give students more voice and some control in their learning environments.  We have been studying the Structure for Instruction model this year during PD and working on when it is appropriate to be in a whole group setting and when our students should be working in small groups or individually.  There has also been a lot of discussion about how to analyze when students are ready for the different steps in this structure.  To me we are moving away from some of the "traditional" methods of teaching that many of us grew up with.  The lessons are more individualized and we are really creating an individual learning package for each student.  We are not all the way there yet, but we are making progress.

Another thing I have found really interesting this week in discussions is different individual's reactions to the Core.  The way it has been presented and discussed in our district it has truly not felt threatening in any way to me.  Has it been overwhelming at times?  YES!  But it has produced a lot of great discussions between team members and also across different grade levels.  I think it's going to be a great tool for helping us to align our curriculum across grade levels and throughout our school district.  We all know what it is that we need to cover and how we get there is more up to us in the classroom. 

It is thought provoking to think about different experiences that I have had in a classroom or in a school district and reflect on who's philosophy it really was in place.  Is it possible to have an entire district under the same philosophy?  Can we all really be on the same page?  And if so how do we get there?  There are so many factors that go into a philosophy both individual and district wide and I wonder how exactly we align all of those while still giving teacher's some individuality. 

This first week has given me a lot to think about in regards to the foundations of our systems and how we are changing or not changing as we go along.  Do we need to change?  If so what and where and when??