Ban the Average

We watched a video in class called the Myth of Average.  We were asked to use an app. to present our three main take-away points from this video.  With much difficulty, I downloaded VideoScribe to my computer, figured out how to use it...and made a great VideoScribe of my main points.  Trouble is...the free trial I got won't let me save it or upload it!  So may I describe it?

First, with moving background music these words were written with a black marker:

BAN THE AVERAGE

Then the marker drew a cat being squashed into a square box.

Then the words continued:

DESIGN FOR THE EDGES.

Then the marker drew another cat, this time a fat cat in a science lab.

Finally, the music changed to something more aggressive, and these words slid in:

THERE ARE NO MORE EXCUSES.  WE HAVE THE CAPABILITY NOW.

So...you will have to imagine this all happening, because I am not going to pay $29.00 a month to have this app on my computer, however great it is.

What a wonderful thing YouTube is, though!  Simple, and free.  And what a flowering of creativity, from all over the world, it has engendered!  The Myth of the Average was a compelling cry for the reform of our educational system - that we have been talking about for many years - to actually happen.  It is no longer OK to say that we will just plan for the average student in our class, because that student does not exist.  Furthermore, we don't NEED to rely on standardized textbooks and lesson plans anymore.  We already have the capability, with easily-available technology, to plan for accommodating and including all learners, right from the beginning.

What is the "adjustable seat" in my classroom?  In reading, everyone is reading something different, at his or her own level.  Some of the students may be reading with buddies and some may be listening to a CD.  In math, some students are asked to complete more questions, some students fewer.  When we did our speeches, some students got to say their speeches to the whole school, some to the class, and some to me alone, if that is where they felt most comfortable.  And so on.  We have a range of "adaptations" which we are required to use and to document for students in our class who learn differently.  But I can see already that this is not enough.  These are still adaptations "after the fact", like trying to take that average seat and make it adjustable.