Lowering the Bar- Too Nice is Dangerous
Lowering the Bar - Being Too Nice is Dangerous When I started teaching, I remember Teach For America expressing that lowering the bar for our students was not an option. If we lower the bar we are in fact harming our students more than helping them and playing into the systems of racism already in place. We are to hold each student to high standards and do what it takes to help them reach the bar. They then taught us how to accommodate instead of modify, they introduced scaffolding and differentiation. We learned about equal and fair classroom management. I had all the tools I needed to be a great teacher and to raise the bar and keep it raised! I loved this idea! In theory I was well equipped to take on the classroom. It sounded perfect, exactly what a mission is supposed to sound like. I was ready to dive in. But what I wasn't ready for, was myself. I had these tools but didn't understand how to use them. I knew what I should be doing (keeping the bar raised) ...