What do you notice about Hillary’s case? Compare your impressions to other people’s first impressions that follow, and then submit your ideas (registration required). You will have a chance to return to your first impressions later in the case.
Check out these first impressions…
Hillary should just stick to the curriculum guide when she teaches TKM. I loved TKM when I read it in high school, and I don’t think my teacher did anything special. And if race is not a major theme, that’s OK. After all, we have a black president, so I think that race is not even an issue anymore.
—Joel, student internI totally understand where Hillary is coming from, because there are times when I am frustrated with the curriculum. Hillary should use the guide as a basis for her unit for TKM, but she can add some other elements that will make it more interesting for the students. If race is a theme that students are interested in, then I think it is worth the extra effort to teach TKM in a way that it meaningful for students.
—Jenna, 10th-grade teacherI commend Hillary for wanting to try something new, but it simply takes too much time and energy. The curriculum is what we have to deal with, like it or not. And we have so many standards to teach, so why make things harder on ourselves? The curriculum always has holes, so if race is not a theme that is mentioned in the unit, then there’s really nothing we can do about it.
—Leslie, 12th-grade teacherTKM is a classic, and there are always references to it on standardized tests, so we want to be certain that our students are prepared. Hillary needs to ensure that she is addressing the curricular standards and that the students are learning the appropriate content. Race is a theme in the book, but there are certainly other themes that are just as significant.
—Steve, assistant principal
