Under the microscope--

I woke up this morning from a dream that I have some version of fairly often; who is going to teach what, and what is going to be taught in my tiny little school, in the micro-tiny-English department. We don't have a full time English teacher in the high school. We have three of us, each doing a little here and there. It really feels fractured some days. That said, it's not so much who is teaching that I try to solve in my dreams, but the what. There's such a push-pull between what we would like the students to be exposed to, learn, and be able to do, and what "the world out there" says that they need. And in many cases, we are not really encouraged to do a both/and type of curriculum: instead, we are tasked with figuring out how the students will pass standardized tests, whether they are digitally literate, whether they can communicate clearly (but not creatively, o heavens no). 

This focus on utilitarian skills is making students hate English. Not every kid is going to love Shakespeare (though I think they can, if it's presented well), and not every kid loves to read (though, again, I think they can, if it's not made out to be a chore). In the mad rush to satisfy outside influencers, grammar has taken a back seat to formatting documents. Not that grammar is all that fun, either-- but it's necessary for cogent communication. But to focus only on the dry bones of literacy is dull for everyone. Yes, we read and work with nonfiction, and we write a lot of research-style essays. But neither of those things are all that exciting, and they certainly do not fully engage the creative, independent thinking part of the developing student's mind. These things have their place, but it shouldn't be the only focus. 

What about imagination! And subtlety of language! Poetry, fiction, deeply personal narrative essays-- there's got to be more to reading and writing than MSDS sheets and proposals to the town meeting. Now that educators are clearly in the crosshairs of some government officials, it is really making it hard to teach and present rich texts and challenging ideas. Those are exactly the things that encourage students to think deeply and to intelligently and compassionately question what they hear. 

O wait. That's why we are under such scrutiny. A thinking public is dangerous to authoritarian regimes. And this is exactly why we --I-- have to keep doing what I'm called to do. 

Yesterday, I read that the NH Commissioner of Education is seeking subpoena powers to levy against teachers under investigation. This, coupled with DeSantis in Florida wanting to require anyone who writes anything about him/ the government in Florida to register with the state, makes me very nervous about our freedoms. Teachers are not seeking to subvert children. We are, however, licensed, educated professionals who just might know a little something about what we are commissioned to do. I wish that the powers that be would trust us to do our jobs, to know what our jobs entail. The future of the nation depends on us doing it well.

Perhaps that is what scares "them" the most, eh? 

Have a good day,

C