Unpacking Standards

My favorite part of my journey is as an Instructional Coach. Once you have the blessing of this experience, your life as an educator changes. I fully believe that this is the single most rich experience that has led to my growth and success as a building and district leader. When I speak with teachers, I come from a place of experience. This matters immensely to other educators. I have sat in front of building administrators that I know have not journeyed the waters and this doesn't necessarily minimize the impact that they have on a school, but I can tell you, first hand, that when you come from a place of experience and collaborate with teachers and staff, the growth, buy-in, and felling of ownership that you see looks different.

Lessons should be build from the bottom up. We hear this and we say it, but as we move through our days and the need to complete 5-7 preps or 7 courses, if you are elementary each day, I can assure you that this practice doesn't happen and the reality is, it can't happen. Not for that much curriculum. I teach my teachers and administrators to identify the critical standards, and this is where the real work comes in. Once this idea is applied to these, it becomes a slightly natural ease into doing this across the curriculum more authentically. As teachers get busy, they look at a lesson, look at a standard, and try to find an engaging activity or assignment from a teacher basal or a site that has a pre-packaged lesson that will keep the kids busy and engaged on the intended targeted task. But ... is this working? Are we getting to the heart of what kids need to know and the depth of complexity that is required of standards-mastery? We first have to be able to dissect the specifications of the standard to know. We have to be able to analyze the depth of complexity required and then we have to be able to create lessons surrounding the depth and application required within the standard.