I know where it goes. It goes into daily dealings with administrative dandies who seem to follow the bizarre self-direction, “Draw pistol, locate foot, fire and harm self and proximate others.” Sigh. It’s the blues of being a union building representative. Hard to find time to write here.
Tip of the hat to Tom Hoffman for a pointer to this Mary Ann Reilly gem.
For those who understand learning as highly contextual and unfinished, the presence of a set of standards is seen as an unnecessary intrusion; one that disrupts learning by substituting a completed story for the story that must be made by those walking. Here, the importance of understanding connections cannot be understated.
A completed story. A Common Core. A common corpse.
On a happier note, I spent the library day out of the library and in an extraordinary young teacher’s classroom where I got to extol the value of libraries in the task of self-directed research. It’s easy to do the visiting educator stranger gig, especially when the gig lasts only 30 minutes of a 55 minute period, and when it’s not repeated daily, over and over and over again. That young teacher is an artist. I’m a dilettante, a “wannabe that once was.”
Nevertheless, there were some moments. Alice Kawazoe once wrote a lovely piece (not linked and unavailable, as far as I know) for BAWP about how teaching, at its best, was similar to conducting an orchestra, particularly an orchestra of beginning musicians. Stumble, stretch, screech, support, stifle, stutter, silence, sustain, suppress, strengthen, smile. And then, out of nowhere, there are moments of music, unexpected and absolutely deserved music.
Connections.
Weeding the Collection 