Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Week 7
What do you, individually, still need to know and understand in order to tier (differentiate) a lesson of your own choosing?
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Week 6
In the reading this week I really struggled with choosing which reponse I would like to write to. Choose the bullet points or the metaphors? I decided to go with the latter of the two choices, as I came to realize that I find all of the bullet points so totally vital in the chapter that I could not imagine singling out merely four! Not to mention, there are a plethora of wonderful quotations from which to pull from the chapter regarding its metaphors...something I just cannot resist!
What I love about the portion of the chapter entitled "A Final Metaphor or Two" is the way it so elequently and constantly reminds us of the ambiguity at times about who is the teacher and who is the learner. "Our best lesson plans evaporate in the face of a riveting question from a child whose age is not a quarter of our own." What a unique and rare opportunity it is to be an educator. To see the light shining so brightly within someone who has only just begun to live and experience the world. This book has so totally shown be how special our jobs really are...and that teaching is not a job, it is an opportunity. It is a gift. It is a chance for us to grow right along side our students. How many other people have the opportunity on a daily basis to be inspired, reshaped, and refashioned by, of all peeople, children? When you think of teaching in that way, how can you help but to be so completely full of passion. How can you not fall in love? How also, can we keep this emotion with us throughout the tough times? How can we see humor and patience in the child who tests us most? How can we stay persistent in our efforts and keep our students persistent in theirs'?How can we stay forever in love with teaching?
"If we allow ourselves to fall in love with what we do, we will be reborn countless times, almost always in a form stronger and more fully human than the one that preceded it."
What a beautifully romanticized idea about teaching. This idea is strengthened by the metaphor that ends the chapter. A story is told of a baker in Saratoga Springs, New York who after teaching at a university found his calling in bread. As he grows, the bread evolves, and that makes him one with the bread. The book tells us that "this is a metaphor for the second challange and opportunity we have as teachers -- to allow ourselves to be reshaped by what we do, to become one with it." In a differentiated classroom we are as much learners as we are the teacher, perhaps some days we fall even more heavily into the side of learning. The first of the two challenges mentioned from the quote is to cultivate passion for what you do, then allow what you do to take hold of you and shape you, reflecting on and learning from what you see.
Perhaps though my favorite part of the story about the baker is the following: "He is transported when he talks about the complexity of the textures in various breads and the immense satisfaction he finds in the labor-intensive process of making loaves of bread by hand, one at a time." I think that this is so important to note. The "complexity of the textures in various breads" can be likened to the complexity of the characteristics that make up our various students. And one must note that the baker finds total satisfaction in the "labor-intensive process". So key in staying passionate and in love with teaching is accepting challanges not as things that will surely defeat us, but as moments that will make us stronger. These are the moments that reshape us, these are the moments when we take off our teaching caps and put on those of the student. Nobody said that this is an easy job, but it is when we can find pleasure in hard work, when we can begin to see the labors which we go through with and for our students as labors of love...it is then that we will cultivate passion for what we do. This is how we can stay forever in love with teaching.
Though there is no paved road for us to travel, it cannot be said that we are not laying the groundwork for the roads which our students travel. Though our road is never clear, and will surely have a pothole or two along the way, there is not reason why teachers cannot set forth a beautifully paved road along which our students can smoothly travel. And how do we begin? As the book tells us, we just begin. We begin and we keep on. And through differentiation, we can keep on keepin' on. You simply have to have the courage to take that first step. I have previously referenced an activity in which we were to stand in front of a sign that best described our feelings about differentiation, and our ability to implement it in a classroom. I stood in front of the sign that more or less stated that I understood the conecept of differentiation, that it totally embodies my ideas and philosophies about teaching, but that I was unsure of how to recognize it or use it in my classroom. I know now from reading this book, that though I am unsure all I can do is take the first step and keep on. I must make my students part of the process.I must allow them to teach me as much as I teach them. I must allow challenges to be part of what makes me a better teacher. I must never lose my passion for teaching, lest my students lose their passion for learning. "Our young, our shcools, our country, and our world are better for each teacher who musters up all the courage he or she can find and stays to the fox, 'Can you show me how to tame you'?"
As a sidenote, much of what was written in this blog can be echoed by much of what I wrote in Week 4, where I feel that I said it much better. Also, I have noticed that as I've been writing other papers and filling out paperwork for the internship that I have been consistently talking about differentiation and its importance in the classroom. I have repeatedly called it the "cornerstone" of teaching and a well-run classroom. I feel that differentiation is so naturally a part of who I am and a part of how I feel about teaching. I think my biggest concern moving on from this point forward is recognizing how to truly implement it in my classroom, and not only implement it, but implement it well. I truly want differentiation to be a natural part of everything that we do in my classroom or as much as it can possibly be. But how? Can I do it? Will it come has easily as I feel it? I suppose I should take my own advice in my blog above and simply take the first step. I need to accept that it will take time. Like like the baker who's bread evolved as he grew until he became one with it, differentiation in my classroom will evolve as I grow until we become one.
Struggling these days to find the words. I have this terrible habit of feeling like I've never said enough, especially when things aren't coming across the way I want them to...blah!! But as always, YAY DIFFERENTIATION!
What I love about the portion of the chapter entitled "A Final Metaphor or Two" is the way it so elequently and constantly reminds us of the ambiguity at times about who is the teacher and who is the learner. "Our best lesson plans evaporate in the face of a riveting question from a child whose age is not a quarter of our own." What a unique and rare opportunity it is to be an educator. To see the light shining so brightly within someone who has only just begun to live and experience the world. This book has so totally shown be how special our jobs really are...and that teaching is not a job, it is an opportunity. It is a gift. It is a chance for us to grow right along side our students. How many other people have the opportunity on a daily basis to be inspired, reshaped, and refashioned by, of all peeople, children? When you think of teaching in that way, how can you help but to be so completely full of passion. How can you not fall in love? How also, can we keep this emotion with us throughout the tough times? How can we see humor and patience in the child who tests us most? How can we stay persistent in our efforts and keep our students persistent in theirs'?How can we stay forever in love with teaching?
"If we allow ourselves to fall in love with what we do, we will be reborn countless times, almost always in a form stronger and more fully human than the one that preceded it."
What a beautifully romanticized idea about teaching. This idea is strengthened by the metaphor that ends the chapter. A story is told of a baker in Saratoga Springs, New York who after teaching at a university found his calling in bread. As he grows, the bread evolves, and that makes him one with the bread. The book tells us that "this is a metaphor for the second challange and opportunity we have as teachers -- to allow ourselves to be reshaped by what we do, to become one with it." In a differentiated classroom we are as much learners as we are the teacher, perhaps some days we fall even more heavily into the side of learning. The first of the two challenges mentioned from the quote is to cultivate passion for what you do, then allow what you do to take hold of you and shape you, reflecting on and learning from what you see.
Perhaps though my favorite part of the story about the baker is the following: "He is transported when he talks about the complexity of the textures in various breads and the immense satisfaction he finds in the labor-intensive process of making loaves of bread by hand, one at a time." I think that this is so important to note. The "complexity of the textures in various breads" can be likened to the complexity of the characteristics that make up our various students. And one must note that the baker finds total satisfaction in the "labor-intensive process". So key in staying passionate and in love with teaching is accepting challanges not as things that will surely defeat us, but as moments that will make us stronger. These are the moments that reshape us, these are the moments when we take off our teaching caps and put on those of the student. Nobody said that this is an easy job, but it is when we can find pleasure in hard work, when we can begin to see the labors which we go through with and for our students as labors of love...it is then that we will cultivate passion for what we do. This is how we can stay forever in love with teaching.
Though there is no paved road for us to travel, it cannot be said that we are not laying the groundwork for the roads which our students travel. Though our road is never clear, and will surely have a pothole or two along the way, there is not reason why teachers cannot set forth a beautifully paved road along which our students can smoothly travel. And how do we begin? As the book tells us, we just begin. We begin and we keep on. And through differentiation, we can keep on keepin' on. You simply have to have the courage to take that first step. I have previously referenced an activity in which we were to stand in front of a sign that best described our feelings about differentiation, and our ability to implement it in a classroom. I stood in front of the sign that more or less stated that I understood the conecept of differentiation, that it totally embodies my ideas and philosophies about teaching, but that I was unsure of how to recognize it or use it in my classroom. I know now from reading this book, that though I am unsure all I can do is take the first step and keep on. I must make my students part of the process.I must allow them to teach me as much as I teach them. I must allow challenges to be part of what makes me a better teacher. I must never lose my passion for teaching, lest my students lose their passion for learning. "Our young, our shcools, our country, and our world are better for each teacher who musters up all the courage he or she can find and stays to the fox, 'Can you show me how to tame you'?"
As a sidenote, much of what was written in this blog can be echoed by much of what I wrote in Week 4, where I feel that I said it much better. Also, I have noticed that as I've been writing other papers and filling out paperwork for the internship that I have been consistently talking about differentiation and its importance in the classroom. I have repeatedly called it the "cornerstone" of teaching and a well-run classroom. I feel that differentiation is so naturally a part of who I am and a part of how I feel about teaching. I think my biggest concern moving on from this point forward is recognizing how to truly implement it in my classroom, and not only implement it, but implement it well. I truly want differentiation to be a natural part of everything that we do in my classroom or as much as it can possibly be. But how? Can I do it? Will it come has easily as I feel it? I suppose I should take my own advice in my blog above and simply take the first step. I need to accept that it will take time. Like like the baker who's bread evolved as he grew until he became one with it, differentiation in my classroom will evolve as I grow until we become one.
Struggling these days to find the words. I have this terrible habit of feeling like I've never said enough, especially when things aren't coming across the way I want them to...blah!! But as always, YAY DIFFERENTIATION!
Friday, February 5, 2010
Week 5
A road trip to Arizona this weekend has given me the opportunity to get ahead, and thus I am blogging in advance! Say goodbye to night-before-blogging! This week I have chosen option #1 for my blog: In chapter 5, Tomlinson discusses 5 (five) bullet points about the differences between teaching curriculum that is important, and “covering” what she calls “scaling Everests of information [that is] not effective for our students." Choose two of the bullets to explain what they mean to you, and how they help you envision the kind of teacher you want to be.
The first of the bullet points that I have selected says the following: "The brain is inefficient at rote memorization and seeks instead to make meaning of information. If we don't make meaning of what we study, we are likely not to remember it, be able to retrieve it, or be able to use it." To add to that, I take another quote from earlier in the chapter: "...teachers shape lives...by equipping students with the intellectual wherewithal necessary to make their way in a world that increasingly demands academic preparation for full societal preparation. As teachers, we teach."
As the beginning of the chapter states, though we wear many hats as teachers and play many roles, our primary role is simply to teach. The trick is to teach in a meaningful way. If you ask anyone the way in which they prefer to learn, I could almost guarantee that they will tell you they learn the most when connections are made to their real lives, to current events, or to their emotional or intellectual desires. As the book also tells us, "we rarely succeed in teaching subjects unless we teach human beings as well." I fully believe that the curriculum is in place for a reason, that it is a necessity, and that it can be a positive tool and guide in teaching, rather than an arduous task we dread to complete. However, the curriculum alone is not enough. What is the point of a differentiated classroom, if not to connect with out students personally in order to find out how we can then connect them to the subject matter on a personal level as well? Differentiation in and of itself is exactly what the quote above says, so everyone should find meaning in this bullet point! This is the goal that I will have as a teacher!
The second of the bullet points states: "Students in schools, classrooms, and educational systems that teach less and teach it better score higher on standardized measures than students in schools that seek coverage of massive amounts of information with little emphasis on understanding. In other words, curriculum that is a mile wide but only an inch deep is ineffective in producing real learning."
I chose the two bullet points that I did because they seem to, in some way, embody the other bullet points I will not mention as well. This particular concept was very interesting to me. It seems that every year, we add more and more to the "need to know" lists for our students, causing the curriculum to expand in a timeframe that remains stagnant. How can we fit it all in? What would happen if we taught our students certain concepts in such a way that when new ones are introduced, they are able to apply critical thinking and apply their past knowledge of other concepts to come to a conclusion about how to handle the new information? Did that make sense? If we aren't taking the time to truly cement what we teach into out students brains, if we aren't making sure those vital connections are made, then it has all been for nothing. It will all have to be retaught the following year, losing more precious time for the students and teachers. We can never reach the bar that has been set so high. So, if we focus on making meaningful connections, apply critical thinking, class discussion, free thought, etc...would students begin to figure out other concepts for themselves? I suppose this is something that if I were able to do, I would certainly apply in my classroom. I see the dilemma though...how can you make certain kids the guinea pigs? What if it fails and they fall behind? However, what if it is successful and they move forward just as the other students do? This simply put an interesting twist in my mind and I would be interested to experiment with it in my own classroom.
My two month old nieces are crying in the background, so I'm having trouble concentrating and putting my thoughts into the exact words I would like. This blog was not my best. Perhaps getting ahead on this trip will prove to be somewhat unsuccessful. I will attempt to come back and edit before class this week as I'm able to think about the reading more. Either way, enjoyed these chapters. This whole book is making me think in a different way than I have about my classroom before. It is especially interesting to read as student teaching and internships approach! Really enjoying this class!
The first of the bullet points that I have selected says the following: "The brain is inefficient at rote memorization and seeks instead to make meaning of information. If we don't make meaning of what we study, we are likely not to remember it, be able to retrieve it, or be able to use it." To add to that, I take another quote from earlier in the chapter: "...teachers shape lives...by equipping students with the intellectual wherewithal necessary to make their way in a world that increasingly demands academic preparation for full societal preparation. As teachers, we teach."
As the beginning of the chapter states, though we wear many hats as teachers and play many roles, our primary role is simply to teach. The trick is to teach in a meaningful way. If you ask anyone the way in which they prefer to learn, I could almost guarantee that they will tell you they learn the most when connections are made to their real lives, to current events, or to their emotional or intellectual desires. As the book also tells us, "we rarely succeed in teaching subjects unless we teach human beings as well." I fully believe that the curriculum is in place for a reason, that it is a necessity, and that it can be a positive tool and guide in teaching, rather than an arduous task we dread to complete. However, the curriculum alone is not enough. What is the point of a differentiated classroom, if not to connect with out students personally in order to find out how we can then connect them to the subject matter on a personal level as well? Differentiation in and of itself is exactly what the quote above says, so everyone should find meaning in this bullet point! This is the goal that I will have as a teacher!
The second of the bullet points states: "Students in schools, classrooms, and educational systems that teach less and teach it better score higher on standardized measures than students in schools that seek coverage of massive amounts of information with little emphasis on understanding. In other words, curriculum that is a mile wide but only an inch deep is ineffective in producing real learning."
I chose the two bullet points that I did because they seem to, in some way, embody the other bullet points I will not mention as well. This particular concept was very interesting to me. It seems that every year, we add more and more to the "need to know" lists for our students, causing the curriculum to expand in a timeframe that remains stagnant. How can we fit it all in? What would happen if we taught our students certain concepts in such a way that when new ones are introduced, they are able to apply critical thinking and apply their past knowledge of other concepts to come to a conclusion about how to handle the new information? Did that make sense? If we aren't taking the time to truly cement what we teach into out students brains, if we aren't making sure those vital connections are made, then it has all been for nothing. It will all have to be retaught the following year, losing more precious time for the students and teachers. We can never reach the bar that has been set so high. So, if we focus on making meaningful connections, apply critical thinking, class discussion, free thought, etc...would students begin to figure out other concepts for themselves? I suppose this is something that if I were able to do, I would certainly apply in my classroom. I see the dilemma though...how can you make certain kids the guinea pigs? What if it fails and they fall behind? However, what if it is successful and they move forward just as the other students do? This simply put an interesting twist in my mind and I would be interested to experiment with it in my own classroom.
My two month old nieces are crying in the background, so I'm having trouble concentrating and putting my thoughts into the exact words I would like. This blog was not my best. Perhaps getting ahead on this trip will prove to be somewhat unsuccessful. I will attempt to come back and edit before class this week as I'm able to think about the reading more. Either way, enjoyed these chapters. This whole book is making me think in a different way than I have about my classroom before. It is especially interesting to read as student teaching and internships approach! Really enjoying this class!
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
Week 4
This week I have chosen to share three quotes from the reading that I found meaningful to me. Right off the bat in the first sentences I saw words that I found inspiring...it happens so often throughout this entire book. However I decided to hold off and wait for something else, perhaps slightly less obvious, that would stand out to me.
A quote from Chapter 3 at the bottom of page 32 reminded me of an activity we did in class last week, where we grouped ourselves based on how we felt about using differentiation in the classroom. I found myself in the group that felt differentiation was a natural extension of my philosophy of education and felt confident to try it, but that I was unsure of how to recognize and implement it into my classroom. There were a few paragraphs in Chapter 3 that spoke to those feelings, and they are as follows:
"These teachers ultimately say to their students, 'I want to be a leader in creating a place where each of you becomes more keenly aware of the possibilities in yourself, the people around you, and the power of knowledge. In this place, I want us to find together a good way to live.' Such teachers are not perfect people. They lose sight of the vision from time to time. When they do, however, they understand that htey have lost their compass, and they hunt for 'North' until they find their way again. They have no road map for the journey. It is their expectation, nonetheless, that they will learn more than they theach and taht each discovery will reveal another step along the way."
The last sentence in this quote is what really caught my eye. "YES!", I thought to myself, "This is exactly how I feel about using differentiation in my classroom!" I have no idea what my classroom will look like, what kind of children will fill it each and every day, nor do I know exactly what my teaching style is yet. I understand differentiation, and I enjoy romanticizing the idea of differentiation and its uses in my classroom...but will I actually be able to implement it? I find comfort in this quote, because though I may not be able to see the vision right away, and though I may lose sight of it on more than one occasion, I know that there is no direct path to a perfectly differentiated classroom. But I know that each day I will learn more and more about how to take steps along that path toward truly knowing my students and allowing them to capture whatever it is that they hope for in this life.
Echoing the sentiments above, at the end of Chapter 3 on page 35 I read this:
"...it should be obvious that 'differentiated' teaching seems an imperative if we accept the teacher's role in connecting with the students. How could we issue an invitation to the risky endeavor of learning if it is a mass-produced invitation? How could we dignify a learner without offering that learner things to do that are important enough to give roots and wings to his or her dreams? How could we learn about the needs of the individual student or attend to those needs without full investment? How could we make it all work for such varied individuals without dogged persistence? How woud we find our way and help our students find their individual paths without deep reflection? It is circular. To establish ties with a student, we must come to see how each student is unlike every other - and to see that we must form ties with that student."
Can I just say, "AMEN!"? Sometimes I honestly feel like this book speaks my language. The way this book is written is exactly how I often write, making it so easy to connect to. The quote above reminds me that differentiation is imperative and that though it requires much effort, the ending result makes that effort so worthwhile. So, when I do find that I have strayed from the path and lost my focus, I have to remind myself that I don't have a choice in the matter. There is a way to find differentiation in the classroom, to utilize it, and to make it work to the benefit of your class. My students deserve my greatest effort, they deserve for me to know them completely, they deserve persistence and reflection on my part...they derseve all of this and they are worth it. Seriously I could have just put the quote above and said, "That right there says it all. That is all I have to say." But, I felt like I needed to reflect, so I tried!
In chapter 4, I found myself drawn to a quote that might seem somewhat mundane or unimportant to others. It is an idea so basic, so general, that one could easily skip over it and miss its importance. On page 44, in a section entitled Guidelines for Classroom Operation, it says:
"Learners are adaptable. It's likely that most of them can adapt to varied sets of rules or guidelines most of the time. It's important, of course, that the learners are clear on what they guidelines are and why they exist. Classroom guidelines are generally best conceived not as arbitrary rules recorded on paper, distributed to studetns, and disccused on the first daya of class, but as agreements forged to ensure a classroom that supports maximum success for each of its learners."
It still amazes me how important classroom management is to the total success of both teachers and students. It is so interesting to me this concept of making rules tools for success, which now as adults we know is exactly what they always were, but do children every really see them that way? How can we make this idea known to our students? How can we help them to see that rules are there for their benefit? I believe this is the age old question between every teacher and student, parent and teacher, between a higher power and we lowly human beings...but it is often something that we realize only in hindsight. I suppose I don't have an answer or grand thought as to how to solve this problem, but it did make me stop and think.
I am also coming to realize that not only is classroom management essential for a well-run classroom, but differentiation is as well. Differentiation should not be something that we strive for, but should be something that we master as a definite tool in our classroom, much as we do for classroom management. I know that when we all speak of our philosophies regarding education - when we speak of the kind of teachers we want to be and how we view or value education - so many of us are describing differentiation. Most people will tell us that our philosophies at this point are most likely romantic ideals that will be quickly broken down in the classroom, and I'm sure often times the dream world of education that we all fantasize about quickly becomes a very different reality, but our ideals about differentiation must stay as they are. We must always look back to the days when we dreamed about the kind of classroom we wanted to have, because most likely that is the kind of classroom out students are dreaming about at this very present moment, and they should not have to look back on what could have been. Nor should we. Differentiation...do it!
A quote from Chapter 3 at the bottom of page 32 reminded me of an activity we did in class last week, where we grouped ourselves based on how we felt about using differentiation in the classroom. I found myself in the group that felt differentiation was a natural extension of my philosophy of education and felt confident to try it, but that I was unsure of how to recognize and implement it into my classroom. There were a few paragraphs in Chapter 3 that spoke to those feelings, and they are as follows:
"These teachers ultimately say to their students, 'I want to be a leader in creating a place where each of you becomes more keenly aware of the possibilities in yourself, the people around you, and the power of knowledge. In this place, I want us to find together a good way to live.' Such teachers are not perfect people. They lose sight of the vision from time to time. When they do, however, they understand that htey have lost their compass, and they hunt for 'North' until they find their way again. They have no road map for the journey. It is their expectation, nonetheless, that they will learn more than they theach and taht each discovery will reveal another step along the way."
The last sentence in this quote is what really caught my eye. "YES!", I thought to myself, "This is exactly how I feel about using differentiation in my classroom!" I have no idea what my classroom will look like, what kind of children will fill it each and every day, nor do I know exactly what my teaching style is yet. I understand differentiation, and I enjoy romanticizing the idea of differentiation and its uses in my classroom...but will I actually be able to implement it? I find comfort in this quote, because though I may not be able to see the vision right away, and though I may lose sight of it on more than one occasion, I know that there is no direct path to a perfectly differentiated classroom. But I know that each day I will learn more and more about how to take steps along that path toward truly knowing my students and allowing them to capture whatever it is that they hope for in this life.
Echoing the sentiments above, at the end of Chapter 3 on page 35 I read this:
"...it should be obvious that 'differentiated' teaching seems an imperative if we accept the teacher's role in connecting with the students. How could we issue an invitation to the risky endeavor of learning if it is a mass-produced invitation? How could we dignify a learner without offering that learner things to do that are important enough to give roots and wings to his or her dreams? How could we learn about the needs of the individual student or attend to those needs without full investment? How could we make it all work for such varied individuals without dogged persistence? How woud we find our way and help our students find their individual paths without deep reflection? It is circular. To establish ties with a student, we must come to see how each student is unlike every other - and to see that we must form ties with that student."
Can I just say, "AMEN!"? Sometimes I honestly feel like this book speaks my language. The way this book is written is exactly how I often write, making it so easy to connect to. The quote above reminds me that differentiation is imperative and that though it requires much effort, the ending result makes that effort so worthwhile. So, when I do find that I have strayed from the path and lost my focus, I have to remind myself that I don't have a choice in the matter. There is a way to find differentiation in the classroom, to utilize it, and to make it work to the benefit of your class. My students deserve my greatest effort, they deserve for me to know them completely, they deserve persistence and reflection on my part...they derseve all of this and they are worth it. Seriously I could have just put the quote above and said, "That right there says it all. That is all I have to say." But, I felt like I needed to reflect, so I tried!
In chapter 4, I found myself drawn to a quote that might seem somewhat mundane or unimportant to others. It is an idea so basic, so general, that one could easily skip over it and miss its importance. On page 44, in a section entitled Guidelines for Classroom Operation, it says:
"Learners are adaptable. It's likely that most of them can adapt to varied sets of rules or guidelines most of the time. It's important, of course, that the learners are clear on what they guidelines are and why they exist. Classroom guidelines are generally best conceived not as arbitrary rules recorded on paper, distributed to studetns, and disccused on the first daya of class, but as agreements forged to ensure a classroom that supports maximum success for each of its learners."
It still amazes me how important classroom management is to the total success of both teachers and students. It is so interesting to me this concept of making rules tools for success, which now as adults we know is exactly what they always were, but do children every really see them that way? How can we make this idea known to our students? How can we help them to see that rules are there for their benefit? I believe this is the age old question between every teacher and student, parent and teacher, between a higher power and we lowly human beings...but it is often something that we realize only in hindsight. I suppose I don't have an answer or grand thought as to how to solve this problem, but it did make me stop and think.
I am also coming to realize that not only is classroom management essential for a well-run classroom, but differentiation is as well. Differentiation should not be something that we strive for, but should be something that we master as a definite tool in our classroom, much as we do for classroom management. I know that when we all speak of our philosophies regarding education - when we speak of the kind of teachers we want to be and how we view or value education - so many of us are describing differentiation. Most people will tell us that our philosophies at this point are most likely romantic ideals that will be quickly broken down in the classroom, and I'm sure often times the dream world of education that we all fantasize about quickly becomes a very different reality, but our ideals about differentiation must stay as they are. We must always look back to the days when we dreamed about the kind of classroom we wanted to have, because most likely that is the kind of classroom out students are dreaming about at this very present moment, and they should not have to look back on what could have been. Nor should we. Differentiation...do it!
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