Wednesday, February 6, 2008

Random Thoughts

So last week I attended two meetings in which my assistant superintendent discussed the very thing that we are learning in class! She explained that the district is working towards incorporating UBD and that while it takes a long time to rewrite all the curriculum, this is the direction in which we are moving. Then, after starting class the other week I understood the concept even more. Now, at the very same time that our district assistant superintendent is telling us about UBD, the principal of my school has asked us to revamp the way in which we write our lesson plans. We now must include a percentage of children who will accomplish a given task for each lesson. Here is my question: If UBD emphasizes the big picture and what these kids will take with them five years from now, isn't having a percentage thrown on something that essentially comes down to "busy work" (i.e. what the curriculum seems to be filled with) something that is sort of working in the opposite direction of where we are trying to go? Is the fact that the principal can see that 95% of students will successfully complete XYZ really showing what he or she has learned?

Just a thought...maybe I'm missing the boat!

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