So Much To Say

And so little time....

I love teaching intersession. It's great to get to teach a different subject / grade for a couple of weeks, and go more in-depth. A major flaw in American education is that our system requires us to "cover" a lot of material, and cares little for real understanding. Standardized testing has only made this worse.

But to be successful in life, our students need to understand things. So, intersession gives us a chance to build broader background knowledge and deeper comprehension.

A lot of students in this country are gradually disengaging from their own education. It's telling that several years of focus on multiple-choice testing has not increased our high school graduation rate. So it's comforting to see that students do, in fact, still love to learn - when given the chance to do it right.

We can do it right during the regular school year, of course. And we're getting better at it all the time - the delicate balancing act between what politicians demand and what professionals know.

I just love this time when the balance can tip 100% towards the children.