Posted: Tuesday, June 25, 2013 12:01 am
How to teach
Regarding the June 18 editorial “Tempest in a teapot,” education existed before CSCOPE. Does the Trib editorial board think teachers are unable to do their very important jobs without it? Any well-trained, dedicated, certified teacher can find plenty of lesson-plan resources for implementing Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills standards.
Real, effective teaching is more than following the CSCOPE’s step-by-step written script. Real teaching is about people who have individual needs and questions — both inside and outside the proverbial box.
Without CSCOPE, teachers will be able to use more creativity in lesson planning instead of one-size-fits-all curriculum. They will also be able to linger on a lesson that students have not fully absorbed instead of robotically continuing on the day-by-day CSCOPE schedule. As with any system, there are those who liked and found value in CSCOPE’s online curriculum system. In some districts, it was used as an added resource — not the entire curriculum.
But before the paper describes CSCOPE as “popular,” your editorial writer would do well to research those who have had to use it. I know more than a few teachers and administrators who do not share this view. We know how to teach critical thinking skills too.
Pamela Mitchell, Clifton
