I agree with David's post regarding vertical articulation. The "Grand Canyons" between buildings- elementary to middle to high school. But, I would also suggest that horizontal- across a grade level is equally as problematic in our high schools. The rarest meeting in a high school is for everyone who teaches 9th grade to be in a room together...although these are the people who Johnny works with, or Maria, or Rachel, or Abdul. What I believe is necessary is STRATEGIC PROFESSIONAL grouping. Where the right people to solve a specific problem come together. I write about this in both The Curriculum Mapping Planner and in Curriculum 21. Thoughts?

Constant revision and reflection have always been the most important pieces of successful educational practice. I have just started on the vertical alignment piece. In large districts there is very little communication between elementary and middle school, middle school to high school. I believe it is importnat to know the expectations at the next level.

I just read "the interview" on John Merrow's column Taking Notes on the Learning Matters website. The interview is with Philip Kovak and is a must-read for mappers. As we examine our maps are we revising for rigor or vigor? Kudos to Janet Hale for directing me to this debate and a series of blogs on the question. Below is an excerpt from the original interview on five points to pivot changes for educational improvement. I have selected #1 and #2 for this blog:


#1. Replace the word “rigor” with “vigor.” Seriously. I have a 6-month-old son, and the last thing I want more of in his education is rigor. I mean, look at the definition:

* strictness, severity, or harshness, as in dealing with people.
* the full or extreme severity of laws, rules, etc.
* severity of living conditions; hardship; austerity: the rigor of wartime existence.
* a severe or harsh act, circumstance, etc.
* scrupulous or inflexible accuracy or adherence: the logical rigor of mathematics.
* severity of weather or climate or an instance of this: the rigors of winter.
* Pathology. a sudden coldness, as that preceding certain fevers; chill.
* Physiology. a state of rigidity in muscle tissues during which they are unable to respond to stimuli due to the coagulation of muscle protein.
* Obsolete. stiffness or rigidity.

Contrast that with the meaning of vigor:

* active strength or force.
* healthy physical or mental energy or power; vitality.
* energetic activity; energy; intensity: The economic recovery has given the country a new vigor.
* force of healthy growth in any living matter or organism, as a plant.
* active or effective force, esp. legal validity.

Language matters, and the words we use to describe education speak volumes about the type of education we’re giving children. I want my son, and all children, to have educational experiences that require active strength, healthy power, and energetic activity, not an education that is harsh, severe, inflexible, or obsolete. Asking states to create more charter schools and then requiring those charter schools to adhere to standardized educative models guarantees rigor at the expense of vigor and that’s nothing parents or business leaders want.

No argument from me on that. My friend Debbie Meier often derides ‘rigorous’ by bringing up rigor mortis, not what we want in schools! So what is suggestion #2?

Make sure the “ends” of education are in line with the means. As we replace obsolete schooling with schooling that is active and flexible, we should remember that we educate children for more than jobs. We live in a democratic republic, and our country will neither be democratic nor a republic without citizens who have the skills and capacities necessary to maintain both. There is no reason to expect that, after years of “memorize and regurgitate” schooling, children will become the critical and engaged adults necessary to keep this country a beacon of hope beyond the realm of economics.

History shows that great countries fall more often from internal collapse than from external threat, and reducing education to job training is a recipe for internal collapse. Towards a more robust democratic social order, schools must encourage responsibility more than accountability and reward individuality more than standardization, as democracy thrives on individuals acting as responsible members of diverse communities. Standardizing educational experiences for all students and expecting them to become innovators is an invitation for student and social failure.

I was struck during my Skype session with a leadership team in Casablanca this morning how in many ways we are so similar. They were raising some potential obstacles to mapping and we brainstormed together possible solutions to help them move forward with the process. It reinforced for me the power of the "team" in being proactive in their thinking and planning. It also reinforced the need for differentiated professional development.

Last night, I spoke at a dinner meeting for a large regional service center and stated that all mapping needs to be electronic (web-based). Paper based mapping is immediately dated. The days of the binder are over. Just as the newspaper I pick up off the driveway is dated. It is last night's news. As some of you have commented mapping provides an opportunity for continuous review and revision in real time via diary maps. And, it also provides an opportunity for setting common and meaningful targets in consensus maps. Having said that, consensus maps need to be upgraded, too. Mapping is a VERB. It is an active ongoing review process.