If you haven't read this article on the NEA website, I recommend that you do. It reminds us of the value of slowing down our classes, taking time to really explore topics.
For me, I know that sometimes I allow myself to worry about my students not finishing the textbook or not writing as many essays as I had originally planned. Then I think about what we did instead. Maybe we had wonderful discussions about the topic being studied. Maybe we finally grasped some concept that had evaded us. Almost always there has been something of equal or greater value that has transpired.
I am lucky. I wrote the curriculum. My students don't have to take highstakes tests (except the TOEFL, but that is different). We have the luxury of taking or time and doing a good job rather than rushing through. Sometimes, though, I need to remind myself of that. This article helped to do that.
Thursday, November 03, 2005
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1 comment:
Interesting article. It made me think about my own "slow learning" experience reading _The Hobbit_ in 6th grade and spending weeks making all kinds of cool artistic representations of the characters. To this day, I remember that book and that teacher better than any others!
By the way, hi! I'm Deb. I'm a writing teacher too. I've lurked on--and enjoyed--your blog but haven't posted till now.
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