I remember...

I remember one of my first years here I went to a Social Science Special Subject Council. As I was new to the province I was still a little lost on the use of curriculum guides (see my post on my experience in Nova Scotia for more on this). I remember going to one on Psych 20 and talking with various teachers about using the Psych 20 curriculum.

We sat together with about 5 of us in a group and shared with one another assignments and what we did in class. I was shocked by the number of teachers that literally took the curriculum as the "bible". They simply photocopied the notes or ran them off into an overhead and went step by step through the guide. They did nothing to adapt it for their own needs and I was told by two...why do the work when it is done for you. These were not just beginning teachers, but those in many years of service. I can remember thinking how sorry I felt for their students to be put through this "torture" of re-writing the curriculum.

I rely on the guide as a guide but adapt it to the needs and interests of that particular classroom. I argued that it was merely a map of where we can start and end. I argued that I could let it show me a way but how I chose to get there, with students as my co-pilots, was our decision. I was actually ridiculed and told that I would lose my job if they caught me doing that. This scared me a little but I still believe that it is merely a guide. Not the definitive end all to be all. I go where the students take me. I see myself as a guide within a museum...sharing info when asked or when interest is shown by the visitors.