Differentiation Reading Response

Fulfilling the Promise of the Differentiated Classroom, by Carol Ann Tomlinson Ch. 7

Much of this chapter reminded me of the things I blogged about last week.

"If we allow ourselves to fall in love with what we do, we will be reborn countless times, almost always in a form stronger and more fully human than the one that preceded it." (p.g. 92-93)

This made me think of my own analogy to go along with how I've been feeling about differentiation and teaching. In The Voyage of the Dawn Treader by, C.S. Lewis, Eustace has been positively yucky, very selfish, and inconsiderate. These traits lead him to a choice of which the consequences are being transformed into a dragon. After he has learned many lessons from this experience Aslan comes to him. He is afraid of Aslan without really knowing why. Aslan is lit by moonlight even though there is no moon. Aslan tells Eustace that he must undress and bathe in the pool he has been taken to and Eustace knows he must tear off the dragon skin. He does so, again and again. Finally Aslan assists him. It hurt more than anything else but it was such a relief at the same time. At first the bath smarted in his new skin, but then became delicious.

Sometimes as teachers we need a mentor or friend to remind us to shed the old and begin again. Sometimes we are in the dark, but answers and ideas can still come. Often we are afraid of what the answers might be or how we might implement them or if they will succeed. Sometimes we remove the old over and over and are uncertain of the effect and sometimes we need extra help to find ourselves more human. Becoming more human, reaching every student, taming the fox, is nearly always a struggle and sometimes it smarts, but eventually it becomes "delicious," if only for a moment before we begin the process again.

I feel for certain that many of my tries to differentiate will fall short of my ultimate goal, but it doesn't matter if I "just begin" and keep looking for new beginnings.