This week, we’ve been writing about text complexity. As we’ve thought deeply about this topic, we realized how confusing text complexity can be. The quantitative piece seems pretty straightforward and easy to understand, but understanding how to reconcile that piece with qualitative and reader and task measures creates a unique challenge to educators. We’ve come to affectionately refer to text complexity as “a beast” and when we imagine it, we see it as this three-legged, fang-bearing monster squinting at us with evil eyes. But this week, we feel like we’ve stared this monster down and worked to tame it. We realize that educators will be at all places on the spectrum of understanding text complexity, and that we will all have to revise our current understandings as new information about text complexity rolls out. For that reason, our favorite this Friday is a post we made in April called Text Complexity 101. If you are trying to understand what the authors of the Common Core mean when they talk about quantitative, qualitative, and reader and task measures, then this post will explain it in a way that will help it make sense. Or, if you want to compare earlier understandings with our later evolutions of thought regarding text complexity, you might examine the April post with this week’s posts.
Mary Poppins has the answer to text complexity, rigour and other terms of the Common Core. Real learning comes when we ditch the jargon and teach kids. So many of the Common Core’s “good” ideas are buried in jargon. How can we promote higher level thinking when our directives are expressed so abstrusely.
Superficial-Unrealistic-Rigor-Is-Atrocious
by Paul W. Hankins and Barry Lane
Superficial-Unrealistic-Rigor-Is-Atrocious
Yet so many education reformers propose this
“If you drill them hard enough, they’ll stay upon their toes-es!”
Superficial-Unrealistic-Rigor-Is-Atrocious
RIGGED RIGOR RIGOR RIGOR RIGGED RIRORAAAA
RIG RIGOR RIGOR RIGOR RIGGED RIRORAAAA
We shouldn’t be afraid to speak when policies seem bad.
We have the best democracy the world has ever had
Why do they keep on scolding us on how we run our class
Take those mandates and those tests and………..
help us stay on task…. oh
Superficial-Unrealistic-Rigor-Is-Atrocious!
What qualifies you to be the Education Moses?
Testing is not teaching ; we don’t buy your mass hypnosis.
Superficial-Unrealistic-Rigor-Is-Atrocious
RIG RIGOR RIGOR RIGOR RIGGED RIRORAAAA
RIGOR RIGOR RIGOR RIGGED RIRORAAAA
We knew this kid named Billy; his life had not been kind.
It seemed that he would be a child left far, far far behind.
A caring teacher found a way to reach this little boy.
Now reading, writing, rithmatic Is this lad’s pride and joy!
Super-Teachers-Always-Know-Connection is-Where-The-Hope-Is
Let them lead their classrooms with a student centered focus
Please untie their hands and lose this Data Hocus Pocus….
Super-Teachers-Always-Know-Connection’s-Where-The-Hope-Is
RIG R RIG RIGOR RIGOR RIGOR RIGGED RIRORAAAA
RIGOR RIGOR RIGOR RIGGED RIRORAAAA
Super- teachers- always- know- connection is where hope is.
Super-teachers-always –know –conection is where hope is.
If your feeling sad we hope this song will help you cope with.
Superfificial -unrealistic-rigor- that’s atrocious!!!
Thanks for these lyrics, Barry! I think you will appreciate this week’s posts. Here’s a preview of the title of this week’s series: Text Complexity and Instructional Hocus Pocus vs. Educator Common Sense. We totally agree that we need to ditch the jargon and get down to the business of teaching kids.