Eclectic Education

BartmasBlurb#36

“Eclectic Education”

What is, “eclectic education?” In today’s world of education there are all kinds of catch phrases, and new ideas. Many educators that have been teaching for twenty plus years can tell you that many of these new practices are just old ideas that have been repackaged, reworded, or reworked. The pendulum continues to swing in education. We once again are data directed, but there is a concerted effort to continue to do this along with college and career readiness and problem solving. How can we stop the pendulum?

I may have coined a new word, but I am sure there is educational theory and theorists that word say, “been there, done that.”  How can we in this new age of technology education adapt all the theories into one massive warehouse of knowledge that connects teacher-student-parent-learning. With all the variables that are involved in the vested parties, there WILL NOT be one technique or theory that fits all of them at the same time. In this newly coined phrase, “eclectic education,” we will take what works for each student-teacher-parent and adapt all of the pieces into a plan of differentiation that create a backflow of curiosity within the child. You may liken it to how many decorate their homes. Many have a main style, but mingled in are hints of other tastes or design elements. Some even are so differentiated in their home design that there is no discernable style, but to call it eclectic!

A student’s daily experience in school and at home should be one of different experiences and discoveries. Teachers that are the most successful in their classrooms and with children are the ones that offer many different experiences and exposures to knowledge throughout the day. There are activities that are project-based, technology-focused, text-centered, stations, mini-lessons, games, etc. These classrooms have students that are engaged and are a hub or hive of activity and learning noise. An eclectic classroom would have minimal worksheets and busy work. An eclectic teacher should be data directed, but not be data driven. An eclectic teacher should be aware of the standards, but not tied only to them. Data and standards have so confined us that teachers are no longer comfortable varying from them. The standards in our plan are the basic strands of knowledge that are expected for mastery by a specific grade level. Our goals for our students should be much more vast than the bits and pieces of standards that have been placed in our states’ guidelines.

In our school we are approaching the end of the first nine-week grading period. Our state opted out of the common core standards and created their own college and career readiness standards. The amazing point is that even though the verbiage has changed, the majority of what we are expecting at the base level out of students has not. Teachers that are mapping their out their weeks are finding that they have a little more flexibility to guide their instruction in logical sequence of skills instead of an awkward flow that existed previously. Even though they may not match the quarterly assessments that we take perfectly this first year, our teachers are finding that by the end of the year all of the requirements will be fulfilled and their students will be ready for the state standardized test. Our teachers may be taking different routes, but they will reach their destination!