IT'S TIME! I’ve stood in front of teachers on multiple occasions over the last couple of years and attempted to convince them to change their practices in the classroom for the betterment of student learning. Each time I have been met with much hesitation.

Why? You guessed it...state assessments. Teachers are terrified (and rightfully so) to deviate one millisecond from a pacing guide that guarantees them that they “cover” every topic from a - z in their standards.

Our kids are suffering. Teachers are forced to teach to breadth and not depth which often brings little relevance to what students are learning. We have been conditioned to think that content standards should be the “end all be all” to teaching and learning.

Please don’t misunderstand. Content is important. Students must have a knowledge base in which to form opinions and make decisions; however, content should NOT be the end game in education. Content should be the vehicle in which we teach students the transdisiplinary skills

they need to be an active, productive member of society. We should be using content standards to teach students how to be ethical, resilient, effective communicators, critical thinkers, problem solvers, active citizens, etc.

I think it’s fair to say that just maybe if we had spent more time teaching those transdisciplinary skills to students in the past, society may not be in the condition that it’s in today.