What do we mean when we say...?

I recently attended an all-day professional development workshop on Charlotte Danielson's Framework for Teaching, which will form the basis of my annual evaluations. The content of the framework isn't very controversial. It makes explicit the dispositions, behaviors, and stances that many recognize as quality teaching. Most teachers seem not to object to the framework itself, but the stakes attached to it.

I went into the training with a sour attitude. Separating this day from the surrounding politics would be impossible. I don't mind being evaluated; it's even something I welcome if it creates context for improving my teaching practice. But the threat of sanctions, improvement plans, and job loss impedes my ability to learn anything new. The endless political posturing, shrill opinion pieces, and shifting mandates distract me.

The presenters settled in, methodically clicking through the requisite Power Point and littering our tables with handouts.  I couldn't focus. With an unquiet mind, I turned to my notebook and started to write. Most of it was venting. Most of it was, sadly, nothing new. After a few sentences, I began attending to the language of the framework and the prominent place it holds in our current educational discourse. I started to question the stability of this language and whether or not it could contain a singular meaning recognizable to all educators and students. What do we really mean when we use these terms? Are our own definitions and those of our elected and appointed decision-makers the same? Are they interchangeable from statehouse to schoolhouse? What are the implications for students when adults in positions of power use the same words in starkly different ways and for different purposes?  When teachers define these terms up close, are we speaking in the same tongue as those who speak of education from a great distance?

This past November, Chippewa River Writing Project Director Troy Hicks reminded those attending the National Writing Project Annual Meeting to ask just what we mean when we say "everything is changing" in and around education. That seems to be a good place to start. I welcome your own definitions in the comment section.

What do we mean when we say "change"?

What do we mean when we say "reform"?

What do we mean when we say "status quo"?

What do we mean when we say "standards"?

What do we mean when we say "highly effective educator"?

What do we mean when we say "student achievement"?

What do we mean when we say "learning"?

What do we mean when we say "high expectations"?

What do we mean when we say "outcomes"?

What do we mean when we say "data driven"?

What do we mean when we say "professional development"?

What do we mean when we say "the research"?

What do we mean when we say "leadership"?

What do we mean when we say "students first"?

What do we mean when we say "21st century skills"?

What do we mean when we say "rich content"?