When we convened our first group of Critical Skills teachers in 1985, there weren’t a lot of options when it came to instruction- but there was a lot of freedom. In the heady days before NCLB, the internet, and high-stakes standardized tests, we were largely free to decide for ourselves what classroom practice should look like. But also, we had to decide for ourselves what classroom practice should look like. We had to design our own lessons and units using only our brains, textbooks, our colleagues, and our own best creativity.
Today the world is both very different and not that different at all. Teachers still work hard to create learning experiences that work for the kids in front of them. Students still need to know more than just academic content and they lack a lot of chances to learn the skills and dispositions that they need for life beyond school. And all of us- students and teachers alike- still benefit from safe, collaborative, empowering learning communities.
But really…what’s different?
No two Critical Skills Classrooms look exactly the same because we respect the experience and expertise that teachers (and students) bring to the table. We aren’t concerned with “fidelity of implementation” because we want teachers and students to engage in meaningful, authentic experiences that resonate in their contexts.
We know learning isn’t a binary proposition. In a Critical Skills Classroom, teachers don’t focus on academics sometimes and skills/dispositions at others. Problem Based Challenges are intentionally designed to integrate academic content with skills and dispositions. It’s not an either/or- it’s a both, and.
We’re all about the teacher. We believe that the teacher is the most important student in the room and that they are entitled to the same care, support, and time for reflection that they give their students. We trust the expertise of the teachers and students and we honor their experiences, perspectives, and contexts.
We don’t care about Gold Standards. The process of creating a Critical Skills Classroom is all about becoming. As teachers and students gain skill and confidence the complexity of the work increases, but the early stages- when teachers and students are just beginning- are just as important as those later days. We don’t rush teachers (and we don’t ask teachers to rush students) into performative, potentially miseducative experiences by presenting a “gold standard.” For Critical Skills teachers, there’s no single standard because there’s no one-size-fits-all when it comes to human beings.
We walk our talk in our courses, immersions, and workshops. When we created the Critical Skills Classroom, we created communities of teachers working together to create not just lesson plans, but an entire instructional approach to meet the needs of the learners in front of us. More importantly, we created a process by which the CSC would continue to be made new by the teachers and students learning within it.
We’re always learning. Today, Critical Skills teachers have opportunities to meet regularly, guided by our Master Teachers (the CSC leadership community) to share what we’ve done, reflect on what we’ve learned, and surface what we need to know and do next. We update our materials to reflect what teachers are telling us about what works and to reflect emerging research. We discover our growing edges and we work together to explore what is possible.
The world has changed
The world in which the Critical Skills Classroom exists may have changed, but the foundation that we established in 1985 still stands, supported by the current research and, most importantly, by the teachers who use it every day.
- Community is the foundation of everything.
- Experience is the key to making meaning.
- Solving problems together is better than going it alone.
- Knowing the target keep us on track.
The Critical Skills Classroom. By teachers, for teachers. Since 1985.