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Sunday, February 2, 2014

Rigor? Really?

The teacher speaks:

Rigor.  What an unpleasant word. I am going to start by saying that I am tired of it.  The word just needs to go away.

We don't need more rigorous standards.  We need more thoughtful standards.

 We don't need a more rigorous curriculum.  We need a curriculum that inspires curiosity in a greater way.

We don't need to guide children only to books of higher rigor.  We need to inspire and invite children to read widely and wildly.

I could rant, but I am tired of ranting about this.

Rigor is not the answer.
Wonder is the answer.

What fosters wonder and curiosity?  Doubt. Difficulty. Uncertainty--that which is Strange. Perplexing. Weird. Unfamiliar. Novel.

Which brings me to my next point.

You can find all of the above in STORIES. .  More stories. That is what schools need.

(Well, that and a big dose of Humanity.)

If you want schools to be the best places for our children, bring Wonder and Humanity to the forefront, not Rigor.

hrh

4 comments:

Jessie Oliveros said...

I think you need to come talk to Texas schools.

Nancy Villalobos said...

Put another way:

Curiosity is the cure for boredom. There is no cure for curiosity.

Unknown said...

When I originally commented I clicked the -Notify me when new comments are added- checkbox and now each time a comment is added I get four emails with the same comment. Is there any way you can remove me from that service? Thanks!
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Myrna Foster said...

Stories. Art. Music. Poetry.

The wrong people are in charge of curriculum.

Our elementary school's principal just cut back on morning recess time so that the kids can have more instruction time. They need to let kids spend more time outside, not less.