Teaching to Student's, Not Industry's, Needs
How pressures from No Child Left Behind and standardized testing have sapped the exploration and creativity out of teaching.
Rebecca Bauer, English Teacher, St. Paul Central High School, in Minnesota 2020
Margaret Virum taught in the Minneapolis Public Schools nearly 50 years. She has been listed among the most prestigious alumni from the University of Minnesota's College of Education and received many honors for her innovative teaching before her death one year ago.
After becoming a teacher 16 years ago, I wrote Miss Virum a letter telling her how much it had meant to me to be a first and second grader in her class and the many ways in which her teaching had not only influenced me as a reader, writer and future teacher, but also how her classroom was a safe haven from a home that had often been in turmoil during those years. I recalled for her the many memories I had of her creative projects and the ways she blended experiential learning and individualized instruction so that each student had an opportunity to feel valued and visible in her classroom.
I was honored by Miss Virum's request to use portions of that letter in a speech before the University of Minnesota Alumni Association, and honored again when I was recently asked by that institution to be a contributor to a writing project remembering her work in education.
