These stories add to the narratives in Section D of Educational Courage, “Resisting by Working in the Cracks: Creating Spaces to Teach Authentically.” Educators describe here how they have found ways to work creatively and foster important student learning in spite of constricting, limiting curricula and high-stakes testing. They offer examples of the kinds of resistance that educators can engage in by refusing to yield to narrowing, distorting conceptions of teaching and learning. These stories show that it is possible to educate in meaningful ways for student academic success despite the constraints.
Pieces
In Defense of a Curriculum that Matters by Lisa M. Weinbaum
Not What I Bargained For: Lessons in Resisting Test Prep Culture for New Teachers and Teacher Educators by Lee Anne Bell, Brett Murphy
Creating Choice: A Public Alternative School by Bette Gobeille Diem
A Small Urban Public School Keeps Its Course by Ayla Gavins