These videos of a meeting between a teacher and an Ed Deform inspired data munching principal are so right on. They were done by a NYC teacher. The best part? His principal was the one who sent them to me.
Here are the accompanying comments from the teacher:
I thought you might enjoy these two XTRANORMAL MOVIES I made. They are, in the interest of humor, exaggerations of the truth. Of course, there is a grain of truth in all good parody. I believe that there are more than a few schools where these little films would not be an exaggeration at all. My parody might even be understated compared to what goes on in some schools. I am fortunate that in my school we have not reached this stage of insanity, but we can feel the pressure to which our principal is always being subjected. We just hope that things change and we get some educators into the leadership before the pressure becomes irresistible. This may be funny now, but the stakes are high and if things continue as they are, it will no longer be funny.Educational Planning, Week One
http://www.xtranormal.com/
Educational Planning, Week Two
http://www.xtranormal.com/
MAKE SURE TO SEE BOTH PARTS
The only "differentiation" I'd ever do would be if I were to teach calculus lessons involving the finding of derivatives!
ReplyDeleteTo anonymous, the calculus teacher:
ReplyDeleteDon't get me wrong. In my video I criticize the obsession with differentiation, but it is not differentiation itself as a principle that I object to. It is differentiation as an item on a list that must be checked off regardless of need and appropriateness, and the confusion between differentiation of needs and of approaches. All students have the same need- to learn what is being taught, whether it is a skill, a concept or a way of thinking critically. This does not change. What requires differentiation is the strategies used to teach these to students with varying strengths and weaknesses and differing dominant modes of seeing and thinking. It is here that we differentiate as needed. I find that the need decreases if I use multiple approaches in each of my lessons.
We have been informed in our school, by no less a one than our quality reviewer, that differentiation means teaching different things to different students. An actual example used, believe it or not, in our school, a school for gifted students, was that the goal for some of our students should be, and I quote, "Student should have a pencil three out of five times."
In summary, I am not opposed to differentiation. I am opposed to stupid, meaningless, counterproductive and distracting differentiation as dogma.
Al Catasus
IS 187 K