The Book of Learning and Forgetting by Frank Smith is now one of my top reads. It is so applicable to my teaching (and my schools) that I have suggested our school district by one for each teacher. This book struck a nerve or rather sparked something in me. It was like one of my book club books. I could not put it down. The ideas of a classic view and the official theory are something I believe I knew, but did I? It really made me question my teaching and those teaching around me.
In my few years of teaching I know that I certainly try to follow the classic view model, but I know that even I (Ms. Idealist) will fall back on old (learned) practices. It truly gave me reason to pause and think about what I was teaching. I continue to realize that it is not an easy or overnight achievement. My one saving grace is I feel I have always known there was something like the classic view, but unsure of what it really was or even called. Now, I have a name for it, and some direction.
In my few years of teaching I know that I certainly try to follow the classic view model, but I know that even I (Ms. Idealist) will fall back on old (learned) practices. It truly gave me reason to pause and think about what I was teaching. I continue to realize that it is not an easy or overnight achievement. My one saving grace is I feel I have always known there was something like the classic view, but unsure of what it really was or even called. Now, I have a name for it, and some direction.