On November 2, Rebecca Alber wrote an article titled How to Stay Caught Up with the Curriculum. In this article, Alber discusses the pressure teachers feel to either be at a particular point by a certain time which in turn ends up being a "race" with collegues who also teach the same subject. She uses a phrase that I really like. She said "to compare is to despair". How true is this?! One cannot assume that a text book pacing guide (which is not to be mis-interpreted as a set in stone schedule) or a colleague's classroom pace will adequately ensure that your own students are effectively learning the material? Sometimes we as educators need to sacrifice the "extra" day or two and ensure that our students are students are learning the core objectives before we try to build upon them just to keep up.
Abler also discusses the importance of covering in depth vs. in breadth. She points out that sometimes, we need to "slow down to go quickly". It's only common sense that if we as learners understand step one thoroughly, we will have a better chance at understanding step two. However, if we lack the skills to understand the first step, it's even less likely that we will understand the second step.
http://www.edutopia.org/blog/curriculum-how-to-stay-caught-up-rebecca-alber
I found this article very refreshing. Sometimes we need to take a step back and reevaluate what we are trying to achieve with our students. Our staff meetings usually focus around benchmarks and curriculum planning but never around the kids themselves.
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