New year -- New book study

We are three weeks into the new school year. Progress reports go home on Monday. Each year, our faculty participates in a campus-wide book study. This year, we are reading the book, Fair Isn't Always Equal, by Rick Womeli. The book addresses issues related to differentiated instruction -- a district focus for some time now.

I want to share a thought from the first chapter. What would happen if a teacher from the 50s, 60s, 70s, or even the 80s stepped into your classroom. Would he be comfortable and able to teach your kiddos the same way you do? Or would he be lost, overwhelmed by the differences between your classroom and his?

I think it's fascinating to think about what we know and do that teachers did not 10, 20, or 30 years ago. Not "what" is different (technology, or "things"), but "how" we are different (methods, strategies, data).

Leave me a comment. How is your teaching different from the classroom of 20 years ago? The author, Rick Wormeli, says our hope is that the 1970s teacher will look at our classroom and say, "I wish I had known that 30 years ago. It would have helped me with Gennie in 4th period."