Such “accountability” schemes reinforce ineffective practice because they fundamentally misunderstand the experiential nature of teaching. Children need to study ideas in ways that connect to their motivations and prior knowledge, and teachers need to respond to the challenges and questions children raise (Brown, 1994). Like success in musical composition, chess playing, architectural design, and other creative fields, success in teaching involves an iterative process: teachers evaluate information about students and subjects, anticipate solutions, and then revise plans based on what actually happens in the classroom (Yinger, 1978).

Cool choice of a book for a class on curricular leadership, particularly as her understanding of teaching is so spot-on. As a book published in 1997, the sad part is that it predicts all that has gone wrong in the intervening years as teaching is given less and less respect.

Linda Darling-Hammond, The Right to Learn: A Blueprint for Creating Schools That Work,(San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2001), 75.