HellofutureKim,

Imwritingyouthisletterbecausethisnextschoolyearhasalotofchangesinstore.I
knowthatyouhaveplannedcurriculumatDodgeCityHighSchoolbutthingswillbe
differentatHaysville(Campus)HighSchool.Someofthemanyknewchallengesinclude
multiplepreps,differentdemographicofstudents,alteringtechnology,adjustmentto
blockscheduling,etc.Youreaterrificteacherandwilldogreatbutatsomepointyou
willbecomeoverwhelmed.Thisletteriscontains7lessonsyoulearnedthissummerfrom
takingcurriculumandinstruction.Readthesewhenyouneedrefocusedandtofindyour
centeragain.

1. DONTTRYTOUNDERSTANDWHYKIDSDOWHATTHEYDO,TRY
TOPLANHOWYOUWILLRESPOND

Manyofthemostproductivemodesarethroughnonverbalandillogical.These
modesoperateinvisual,auditory,metaphoric,synestheticwaysanduseformsof
conceptionandexpressionthatfarexceedthelimitsoflogicallyprescriber
criteria(Eisner,2002,p.98).Thebeautifulthingaboutchildrenistheyalllearn
differently.Makesurelessonsincorporatealldifferentlearningstyles.When
possibletryandteachlessonsmorethanoneway.Oneway,yourway,hardly
everworksforeveryone.Whenplanninglessonskeepinmindwherethedifficult
conceptslie.Anticipatethesequestionsandanswertheminyourteaching.

Troubleshootingpotentialissueswillsaveinstructiontimeandallowforeither
moreexamplesormoreindividualinstruction.
Thislessoncanalsobeapplicabletostudentslivesingeneral.Thestudentswill
tellyouallabouttheirpersonallives.Listenwithanopenearandopenmind.
Chancesareiftheyretellingyousomethingitsbecausenooneelsewilllisten.
Taketimeouttohearthemevenifitisntanopportune.Theseexperiencesare
partofthehiddencurriculum.Howyouhandlethemisjustasimportantas
teachingyourstandards.Listeningisonewayofshowingyourloveforstudents.

2. LOVEYOURSTUDENTS
Thisisarguablythemostimportantlesson.Ifyoueverloseyourloveforteaching
quit!!!Studentscantellwhenteachersdonotwanttobethereandthatcanhavea
lastingeffect.
Teachingstudentsisstandingupandfightingfortheirneeds.Itisyourjobtobe
thatvoice/advocatefromwhentheyneeditwhileatothertimessimplyhelping
themtofindtheirownvoice.
Neverletthemleaveyourroomthinkingtheyareafailure.Yourclassroomis
theirsafehavenwhereitissafetofail.Whereelsebetterforthemtolearn?
Everydayyouhavetheabilitytomakeapositiveandanegativeimpact.Some
dayswillbeastrugglebutdoyourbestandthegooddayswilloutweighthebad.
Theselessonswillstickwiththemforever.
3. TREATEACHCHILDFAIRLY
Ashumansweallhavethesamebasicneedsandwants.Thuswestriveforthesame
qualityoflife.Adlerstates,Thatcallsforthesamequalityofeducation(Adler,
2004).Deweyalsostatedthebesteducationforthebestisthebesteducationfor

all.Howeverequalandfairarenotthesame.Belowisaquotethatspeakstothe
differencebetweenthetwo.

EqualmeansthesameIwillnotbetreatingyouexactlythesameway.Beingfair
meansthatIwilldomybesttogiveeachstudentwhathe/sheneedstobesuccessful.
Whatyouneedandwhatsomeoneelseneedsmaybeverydifferent.Iwillalwaystry
tobefairbutthismeansthingswontalwaysfeelequal.

Adlerstated,eachchildiseducableuptohisorhercapacity(Adler,2004).Inorder
tohaveeachchildreachhis/herscapacitybewillingtolendassistanceandmake
adaptationsandmodificationswhenpossible.Makingchangesisntabadthing.After
allwhatisfairisntalwaysequal.

4. HIDDENCURRICULUMISJUSTASIMPORTANTASTHE
STANDARDSWETEACH
Eisnerstated,Althoughmuchofwhatistaughtisexplicitandpublic,agreatdealis
not(Eisner,2002,p.87).Youareteachingstudentsmorethanjustformulasand
elements.Lessonsinlearningdelayedgratificationandsharingsuccessesarealso
extremelyimportant(Eisner,200,p.88).Duringlabs,focusoncommunication
betweengroupmembers.Keepinmindtheyneedtolearnhowtobothbesupportive
andcritiqueoneanotherrespectively.Encouragequestionsandinterests.Youwant
yourstudentstoleaveyourclassroomhungryformoreknowledge.

5. INCORPORATESTUDENTSLIKESANDINTERESTSINCLUDING
ETHNICBACKGROUNDANDDIVERSITY
Multiculturaleducationismainlyrelegateditprimarilytosocialstudies,
languagearts,andthetineartsandhavegenerallytargetedinstructionforstudents
ofcolor(Gay,2004,316).Thisdoesnthavetobethecase.Asteachersweare
constantlytryingtoconnectourcurriculumtoothercontents.Multicultural
educationcanhelpbridgethatgap.Remembertodiscussdifferentscientistsand
theirinnovations.EveryoneknowsaboutEinsteinandEddison.Howmanypeople
knowaboutDanielHaleWilliams(firsttoperformopenheartsurgery)or
RosalindFranklin(helpedtopioneerinnovationsforDNAandRNA)?These
figuresneedrecognizedaswellwhilealsopotentiallymakingalastingimpactto
kids.Incorporatingdifferentculturesandethnicgroupswillhelpstudentsinone
oftwoways.One,theyhavethepotentialtofeelmoreintouchwiththematerial
beingtaught.Two,thestudentshorizonsandviewpointswillbeopened.Afterall
studentscometouswithvastlydifferentlifeexperiences,whichleadsmetomy
nextpoint.

6. MEANINGFULEXPERIENCES
Deweyoftenemphasizedtheimportanceofastudentsindividualexperience
(Marsh&Willis,2007,p.43).Howevereachstudentdepending on their up
bringing, parents education level, location, and life experiences each students skill
set in the classroom could be vastly different. Many of these experiences are in a
somewhat narrow world (Dewey, 2009, p.5). Until school they have only come

in contact with family and family friends whose ideas and beliefs probably
coincide with the same ideas as their family. We as teachers have this beautiful
job of opening up students minds, exposing them to new ideas, cultures, and ways
of thinking.
Going along with Deweys point we want each experience to be meaningful and
worthwhile. This is a daunting task. So pick a few lessons/ projects to focus on.
Give these your time and attention and perfect these experiences. Once you have
mastered those you can pick two more lessons to work on. Picking a few at a time
ensures a more rounded worthwhile experience than a dozen halfhearted ones.
Making these lessons meaningful will lead to greater learning for the student.
7. INCORPORATEDIFFERENTTYPESOFASSESSMENT
Mostofthetimegradesaresimplyananalyticalcalculationresultinginthecommon
AFreportcard.Thistypeofevaluationisntmeaningfultoeachstudent.However,
thistypeofgradinghasbecomethenormbecauseWhenchildrenmustallstudythe
samematerialandstrivetomeetthesamestandards,itbecomesinfinitelyeasierto
sortandgradethemlikesomanyapplesonaconveyorbelt(Noddings,1983).
Dontbeafraidtobreakthismold.Afterallthereismoretolife,moretoexcellence,
moretosuccess,andmoretodevotionthancanbecapturedinasingleintellectual
modelofexcellence(Noddings,1983).Giveavarietyofassessmentsthatinclude
projects,labs,andessays.Havingavarietywillhelptoensurethateachstudentfind
interestinatleastonemajorassignment.
References:
Adler, M. (2009). The paideia proposal. In Flinders, D. J. & Thornton, S. J. (Eds.), The
curriculum studies reader (3rd ed.) (pp. 176-179). New York, NY: Routledge.

Dewey, J. (1938). Experience & Education. New York, NY: Macmillan.

Eisner, E. (2009). What does it mean to say a school is doing well? In Flinders, D. J. & Thornton,
S. J. (Eds.), The curriculum studies reader (3rd ed.) (pp. 327-335). New York, NY: Routledge.
Eisner, E. (2002). The three curricula that all schools teach. In The educational imagination: On
the design and evaluations of school programs (3rd ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.
Flinders, D. & Thornton, S. Eds. (2009). The Curriculum Studies Reader (4 th ed.).
New York, NY: Routledge.
Noddings, N. (2009). The false promise of the paideia: a critical review of the paideia proposal.
In Flinders, D. J. & Thornton, S. J. (Eds.), The curriculum studies reader (3 rd ed.) (pp.
180-187). New York, NY: Routledge.