The bad. The good. The exceptional.

This blog is for the overachievers. For the teachers who not only work to school their students, but who strive to educate them. To make them better citizens. Better individuals. To help mold their students to be their best damn selves. The teachers who are teachers even after the 3:30 bell. The educators with philosophies like me; who will not rest until each of their students have found their vocation in life and know they have the means to fulfill it. It is not enough to show up to class each day and teach the textbook. Education and school require so much more than the bare minimum so many teachers never exceed. This blog is for the thinkers and the doers. Who have a vision for their classrooms and their students and who pride themselves on being exceptional. 

It is the exceptional teachers who are able to manipulate the curriculum, or rather, stretch it, in order to best suit the needs of the students in his/her class. These educators are able to interweave the curriculum documents with the realities of the class, in order to make the lessons meaningful. The text Interweaving Curriculum and Classroom Assessment refers to this as the teacher’s opportunity to make the “curriculum come alive” by making the material “relevant and effective for the particular students in their classrooms” (8). As basic as this concept may seem in theory, there is a growing concern that more and more teachers are not working to create this Individualized approach for their students. This individualization or differentiated instruction is, in my opinion, the key to the success of a class as a whole. The Ontario Ministry of Education defines this type of teaching as a “method of teaching that attempts to adapt instruction to suit the differing interests, learning styles, and readiness to learn of individual students” (2011, p. 58) (10).

I see it this way: the curriculum is the pizza dough. Every teacher is responsible in giving her students each the ball of dough and helping them roll it out to the perfect dimensions, as determined by the ministry. However, it is the teacher’s responsibility to create and deliver the unique pasta sauce to her students, because the dough without the sauce is almost useless – this is the teacher’s adaptation. The individualized approach is the teacher’s knowledge of how much freshly grated Parmesan cheese each of his/her students requires on their pizza, and the exceptional teacher will make it her duty to go around and grate the cheese for the students. We can weave Freire’s model of the oppressed and ensure that even the marginalized are given a fair helping of cheese; in fact, they can receive as much cheese as their pizza requires at school. To take this analogy one step further, the personalization of these pizzas comes when these students learn that they enjoy pepperoni, or mushrooms, or olives, and take the steps required to put them on their own pizza. The teacher allows her students the freedom to personalize their pizza by giving them the necessary tools to explore what they enjoy. Many students may be satisfied sticking to a margherita (plain) pizza, and that is okay too. But for the students whose creativity and curiosity far exceeds the basics, they need to be given the tools to personalize their own pizzas; this is where these students will soar.

Assessment comes into play when the teachers help students quantify their pizzas in such a way that motivates them to improve on them, or make them more dynamic. For example, a teacher can encourage students to try different combinations of pizza toppings and show how these toppings can be implemented in the real world with pertinence to the students’ future endeavors. The teacher can also challenge the students who grade the highest on the bell curve to mentor the students on the lower end. Through experience, I have found that young learners have a profound way of motivating their peers, because they can relate to and understand one another. The assessment process should be used as an opportunity to not only substantiate the achieved learning, but also indicate the areas for growth, and help students on the right path to their highest success.

If you are considering becoming an educator, know the amount of work and energy it takes to create the individualized pasta sauce for each of your classrooms, and the pressure behind knowing how much cheese each students needs. It also requires ongoing analysis and assessment to help students recognize their potential within your classroom. But these details are crucial to each student’s individual success and growth as both a student and a citizen. Students need the exceptionals. Not just the teachers prepared to meet, but not ever exceed, the ministry requirements. I challenge all you teachers out there to be exceptional – go above and beyond. You’ll see your dedication sprout in not only the higher thinkers in your classroom, but also the oppressed.

Let us think of education as the means of developing our greatest abilities, because in each of us there is a private hope and dream which, fulfilled, can be translated into benefit for everyone and greater strength of the nation. -- John F. Kennedy