Differentiated what?

In a lot of fields, colleagues and stakeholders are referred to as “family.” To that end, I thought it would be fitting to keep this post “in the family;” my brother. He’s an elementary school teacher in NYC and apart from being brilliant, he’s one of the most honest and dedicated practitioners I know.

We had a conversation one day about Howard Gardner and multiple intelligences. My brother is an advocate for differentiated instruction and I asked him to write his thoughts in a brief paragraph. His words:

Ask Joe Namath to win a spelling bee. Ask Yo-Yo Ma to jump hurdles. It’s a known fact we are limited genetically or environmentally and there’s more of which we are not capable than what we perceive as our strengths. Buzzword of the day: Differentiation. “How is data collected to differentiate your lessons?” As if teachers don’t have enough on our plates already, now we are asked to teach the same lesson in a variety of ways. So why the added task and responsibility? It’s simple; equity: the right of every child to the curriculum. Sure, this might be a situation where the negatives outweigh the positives – whether it’s time management or the known fact that life just doesn’t differentiate – but the one positive (even with the added headache) is that it limits the frustration of the child. For those of you who have no idea what I’m rambling about, here’s an example: If you can’t carry 40 pounds, why would I ask you to carry 60? It is that simple logic that exists in all classrooms and in life, for that matter, that even though we are held accountable, we forget how fragile students are underneath their tough inner-city persona.

If you’re not familiar with Gardner or his theories, I encourage you to research him on the Web. His Project Zero, out of Harvard University, lists as its mission “…to understand and enhance learning, thinking, and creativity in the arts, as well as humanistic and scientific disciplines, at the individual and institutional levels.”

Happy holidays and happy new year!