Schools are not doing enough to guide classroom instruction, Mike Schmoker and Richard Allington argue in this Education Week commentary. As a result, they say, most teachers resort to worksheets and coloring books, when they should be developing students’ critical reading and writing skills and promoting analytical classroom discussions.
“The key to better schools is not commissions or new commercial curriculum materials, or even professional development,” Mr. Schmoker and Mr. Allington write. “Each of these lacks the most basic, critical ingredient: a willingness to establish clear expectations for instruction, to arrange for teachers to work in teams so they can meet and exceed those expectations, and to institute simple routines for honestly and continuously monitoring teaching to ensure its effectiveness.”
What do you think? How could schools best improve teachers’ effectiveness?
