Thinking Classroom: Where Are We Now, What Happens Next

Building the Thinking Classroom (BTC), on paper and in theory, sounds like a wonderful way to teach. Who doesn’t want their child to be a critical thinker, able to come up with independent, creative solutions to problems? In reality, as parents either know now, or are coming to realize, there is nearly as wide a range of success with this method of teaching as there are individuals being taught.

A very brief summary here, for any who are not yet familiar with our district’s rollout of BTC. It began with one high school math teacher a year or two ago, and as of the beginning of this school year has been more widely adopted by other math teachers at GL and CMS. Most parents only became aware of BTC when some of the classes utilizing this method and (founder) Peter Liljedahl’s 14 BTC principles saw smart, typically ‘A’ students, suddenly getting C’s, D’s and F’s.

After public outcry, the district held a parent presentation of BTC, but addressed few of parents’ concerns and left no time for an honest discussion at the end. Individuals reached out to teachers, building principals, and the math supervisor, Drew Ziobro. Small-group workshops were scheduled for parents. Most (but not all) students were told to see teachers for additional help and to retake exams so grades could be adjusted; a temporary band-aid in lieu of actual change or remediation.

Fast forward a month, and now we’re right back where we started. Students failing, families needing to hire tutors, no real or long-term solutions being offered.

When parents requested the Superintendent and BOE’s help, we were basically told there would be no help from that direction because it’s inappropriate for parents to weigh in on our children’s education and “teaching is an art”.

So. What happens next? More grade adjustments to stave off parent concerns over college applications? Pretense that all is well, because parents have been force to hire out instruction, therefore students are no longer struggling, as defined by the district?

What happens next is up to us, but by “us”, that doesn’t mean a few parents from a select number of classes individually doing their best to find solutions quietly and on their own. It doesn’t mean one or two parents repeatedly going to BOE meetings, only to have stated concerns float in one ear and out the other (though this particular parent will be doing exactly that). We need the kind of response that was seen at the November 1st parent presentation. For those who have younger children, or kids in classes where the teacher hasn’t implemented BTC, know that there is a very good chance your student is in this exact spot a year from now, if no changes are made. And believe it when we tell you – nothing has changed so far. We need all voices, all suggestions, all creative solutions that this town-wide body of parents can come up with.

Reach out: here, to parents you know with students in classes that are teaching with BTC, and/or to our district’s administrators. Let’s show that we are aware, concerned, and that it IS appropriate to weigh in.

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