There is so much to learn about the world. More than we could possibly acquire in several lifetimes, let alone the one we’ve been given.

Why do we allow the bureaucracy of school to put such limits on the quest for knowledge—on true learning?

1/

I never begin with the standards in mind.

Sure, they’ll probably come up. But they were constructed by a select group of people who decided these 47 things are the most important to learn in the world.

Someone made them up. We’ve built whole power structures around them.

2/

I start with my students, their interests, and a profoundly interesting question worth pursuing.

Then we learn.

We learn together what it means to pursue knowledge responsibly, create new understandings, and to work in community.

3/

While PLCs can be powerful hubs of collaboration, sometimes I worry they center too narrowly on maintaining a lock-step curriculum.

Rigid pacing guides become so inflexible that they actually hinder any real learning.

Rigidity is the oppressor of responsiveness.

4/

This is not to say PLCs are inherently ineffective, but we’ve allowed them to center on the lowest common denominator.

True professional collaboration requires nimble intellectual flexibility.

The strongest PLCs I’ve worked with were interdisciplinary.

5/

Our students are intersectional beings who live in a world beyond the silos that traditional schooling prepares them for.

How can we make our systems more responsive to their realities?

6/