Core Curriculum IS Like Going To War

So did that title catch your attention?

I bet it did. It's rather like beginning an essay with the word "sex" or anything connected to the word "sex." So, using this heading is for a reason. I want to talk about "Core Curriculum." You've heard about it. Your administrators have been tossing it your way, and you've been examining it in your professional learning communities. You either have a grasp of the changes heading your way, or you don't. I am one of those in the first category. Hence the title. Core Curriculum will change the way we teach. If it doesn't, we're not doing it correctly. That's why it's like war. Tell a large group of committed stakeholders that all of their lives must change and there will be chaos, pure and simple. Some are excited, others are fearful. Some are angry, others simply plan to do nothing at all. So for those of you who know nothing of the changes to come, here are my thoughts on this "war," I mean "change."

Core Curriculum

1. It will open with a lot of flag waving and hoopla. Get prepared. There will be song singing and flag waving. Inspirational speeches will be given. You will feel something. All wars begin this way. Be prepared for it. There's nothing wrong with flag waving. Heck, I still cry during the national anthem when it's played for those who win medals at the Olympics.

2. Everyone will react differently when the shooting begins. You know that when we "pull the trigger" and begin implementation, everyone will react differently. Some will charge into the front lines, yelling fiercely, "Charge!" Some will be confused, milling about, shouting for help. Some will run the other way, fearful. Some will simply stand still, hoping that they go unnoticed in the uproar. Which will you be?

3. After the battle begins, your awareness awakens. It's going to be bloody. It's going to be hard. You are going to win some things and lose some things. More than that is the knowledge that when you come out on the other side, you will never be the same.

4. Be prepared for ugliness. You know the unit you love? The one on dinosaurs or cell division or poetry? Keep in mind that teaching depth of knowledge takes time, more time than you have ever invested before. That means that some of the things you love have to go. Let's call this war event---amputation. Grim business, eh?

5. When the war is over, you will be tired, but you will have a whole new perspective. I think that says it all.

Our implementation of Core Curriculum will be a battle. Like most wars, there is no way to predict the battles we will will fight or how we will fight them until we actually just DO. We will be changed, but all is for a reason: we fight to create the best possible education for the students placed in our classrooms.

For them, I will do battle.

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