Finding Time for Freedom within a Structured Curriculum

Negotiating the Literacy Block: Constructing Space for Critical Literacy in a High-Stakes Setting, by Paugh, Carey, King-Jackson, and Russell, describes the work of a teacher and literacy coach in developing a curriculum that carefully works within the required Basal reader and literacy standards while still allowing for student innovation and creativity and offers on-point, personalized instruction. The problem with the highly structured curriculums that developed out of a culture of high-stakes testing and (sometimes unfair) processes teacher accountability is not that the curriculum is bad in itself but that it does not address the specific needs of specific students and that it does not allow for innovation; “mandated curricula ignore ‘students’ cultural/linguistic/imaginative capital’” (32). In a world where social and economic success not only requires knowing how to read and write printed texts but also assumes active participation in collaborative community events” (31), a world that increasingly  requires critical and creative thinking, teachers should create space for such learning as well as a space for standard curriculum. (This Ted Talk on Motivation in the Workplace illustrates the importance of creative thinking in the modern workplace.)

Reflecting on the predominately non-white, urban students of this article, their teacher realized that students from non-privileged backgrounds needed explicit instruction in the language of schooling schooling in order to gain access to educational success. Adding “Choice Time” (later changed to “Design Time” because students were so proactive in designing new methods for their own learning) to the Literacy Block gave students a chance to work on what they specifically needed in a way that worked with their style of learning. Choice Time allowed students to choose between a variety of activities for learning vocabulary and spelling, such as Look Say Cover, Spell with a partner, Sentence Strips, Hangman, etc. This time also gave students opportunities to develop social negotiation skills as many students borrowed ideas and encouraged each other.  Over the course of the year, Choice Time grew to incorporate student ideas officially. For instance, “Apple Tree”, a version of Hangman, was developed for a girl whose religious beliefs would not allow her to participate in a violent game. This approach gave children the opportunity to be proactive and self-motivated, to drive their own learning in a very positive way.

To fully understand the implications of their innovation, the teacher and literacy coach used multiple forms of assessment at the end of the year. “These included: 1) the district-mandated reading assessment (the Developmental Reading Assessment) which measures students’ fluency and comprehension, 2) the changing landscape of the classroom (evidence of students’ initiative in creating new rules, social relationships, and investment as they interacted with Choice Time texts); and 3) the Choice Time activities themselves (as) evidence of student innovation, participation, and connection to the state standards for English Language Arts.” (39). Results showed that most students in the class were ending the year at late second-grade or early third-grade levels – right on target.

This article gives me hope that, even if I do accept a job that forces me to work within a highly structured curriculum such as a Basal Reader, there are ways of also finding time to meet specific student needs.