That's a common question and issue in schools. Many teachers are told to do the same thing at the same time, while in truth doing the same thing at the same time might not be a great match for an educator's skill set, experience, or potential, and even more importantly, it might not be the best way to teach sets of children who vary in countless ways.
This one-size-fits-all teaching menu is a source of frustration for many educators who want to develop their craft. For example, I spend a lot of time reading about teaching, and I want to try out all the great new ideas I research, and when I'm told I can't do it because a brand new teacher down the hall isn't doing it, that dilutes what I am able to do. I was that brand new teacher once, and I know that he or she needs to do what's best for their students as well as their professional work and learning curve. Instead, I think we should let every educator teach in ways that maximize their potential
With regard to same-size-approach teaching, I am a fan of a list of guiding standards because those standards serve as the backbone to a program. Same standards used as a guide give us some commonality and structure and are a good source to begin with. Then I believe we need to embed those standards in meaningful teaching and learning. This is one reason why I remain a fan of the Common Core Standards as a guiding set of standards to work from as we teach and learn.
What do you think about this common dilemma in education? I want to know.
