Life on the Continuum

No matter where you are on the customized learning continuum, there's always more progress to make. This is a healthy reminder for when I feel like I've got it all figured out. The other day I had one of those reminding moments.

I subscribe to a few blogs including that of Bea McGarvey, Maine's foremost customized learning expert/advocate. In reading some of the comments following a post, I was struck by the apparent progress that had been made by some contributors, teachers mostly. They were really customizing, going well beyond flexible time and independent study of standards into the world of content based on student interests yet somehow linked directly (not just by a thread) to required standards.

Personally, I don't know how they do it. The traditional structure of a school, even a progressive middle school like Medomak Middle, doesn't readily lend itself to customization to that extent. I clearly still have a lot to learn.

However, I was also struck by the callousness of one teacher's blog comments, comments that carried a tone of disgust for programs like mine that are not as far along the customized continuum as hers apparently is. This raised a red flag for me as I know that at times I become enamored with my own progress and frustrated with the progress of others. While it's important to be proud of one's progress, it is equally important to be ever mindful that all teachers live their professional lives on a continuum that never ends. Continuums are lines not line segments; they are designed to continue. In the teaching profession, there is always more one can do and always more progress to be made. Yet, change doesn't happen overnight, and educators need to be patient with each other, validating each others success steps along the way. I'll try to remember this.