Those that work with me know that I'm not a fan of the worksheet. Every time I can, I slam the worksheet:
"Boring." "Let's go green." "The copy machine is broken." "Quick, look over there (as I hide the stack of papers)."
As I hunt through the school and pass by classrooms, I see students hiding papers and teachers shoving piles into the recycle bins. I know my quest to get rid of the black on white is still not finished. This year I've decided that I need to find a better way to persuade the staff. And so, I've been examining and researching those pesky, thin strips of tree.
Guess what I found? In all of these worksheets, there is a rise in expectation between K-grade 2, but after that there is virtually no change in what we are having our students do. It does not get harder as students progress from 3rd grade to 6th grade. Also, the worksheets provided by our reading series does not provide instruction to the depth of knowledge it is supposed to, according to Missouri's Grade Level Expectations. BUT, the most alarming thing that I found (although I knew this all along) is that these pieces of paper do not allow our children to THINK!
When did our schools turn into paper pushing machines? How did we let this happen? As we all talk about school reform, let us be advocates for our students. We all share on Twitter, but are we talking to those that are making these insane decisions about our schools?
The foundation of our country has always been free speech. Well, we have the speech thing right, we are all talk. Now, we need some action. I'm going to start by proving to the staff, once and for all, that worksheets are not the answer for our children. I'm also going to write my legislature, giving my opinion about what will improve what students need. I'm going to inform teachers and parents, and persuade them to be advocates for school reform.
What will you do?
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