FIAE Chapter 2 Response

I found that many of the concepts in this chapter connect to those outlined in chapter five of Understanding by Design, making them seem slightly repetitive but also reinforced.  One section that I found to be quite helpful, however, was the list of resources for helping determine what is important to teach in a particular unit.  I’ve always wondered how teachers decide what they are going to focus on and what to skip over (because let’s face it, it’s impossible to cover absolutely everything), despite having standards to guide them.  One of my biggest fears about teaching deals with determining the content and resources that are necessary (and most relevant) to helping students master the standards, so I will definitely refer back to this list!  I also don’t want to get stuck “teaching to the textbook”, which I feel could be an easy trap to fall into, especially for a new teacher.  One suggestion the chapter made that I didn’t really like, however, was the use of district scripts.  I don’t know if this is something I will ever encounter, but the idea of having a bunch of students from different classrooms and different schools being told to focus on the same thing on a particular day just doesn’t seem realistic.  I see it as more of a stressor for the teacher, who may have to adjust their curriculum in order to follow the generic guidelines.  All students and classes are at different paces and I think that a teacher should stick with the pace that works best for her students.