Three weeks removed from the end of the first marking period, the new and redesigned 10th-grade English curriculum has brought controversy and widely felt change. The MCPS mandated curriculum is only just past a quarter into its first county-wide year, yet its implementation has been anything but smooth.
Born from Dr. Thomas Taylor’s promise for equity within the school system, the new curriculum standardizes 10th-grade English classes across the country with a focus on a prescribed list of 2-3 anchor texts and common tasks for each marking period. However, although good in theory, teachers report that the changes with the new curriculum haven’t been smooth sailing in practice.
“I think that making MCPS as a system more equitable is only a good thing.” 10th-grade English teacher Bonnie Lechner said. “I just would want to ensure that as we’re pushing for that equity, we’re thinking about personalization and individualization as opposed to like restricting what can be taught or like how things can be taught so that things look more equitable but aren’t in practice.”
The new curriculum has led to many setbacks for the English department as they adapt to the new changes.
“It doesn’t seem to be complete,” Lechner said. “In talking with the curriculum specialists, it seemed that they were still putting things together, even though last year was the pilot year, and this year they pushed it out to all staff and all schools. So there’s just a lot that seems unfinished and a lot that seems to need feedback and reworking that, for some reason, hasn’t been done just yet.”
Another limiting factor has been the decreasing freedom for teachers, who had more flexibility in their book choices and skills taught with the previous curriculum. Teachers are now more bound to the guidelines of MCPS.
“I think that teaching is a creative endeavor,” 15-year 10th-grade English teacher Adam Graham said. “I think that teachers need to, you know, show and demonstrate a knowledge base about what they’re teaching, but also have an enthusiasm for what they’re teaching. And I think if you cut off teacher enthusiasm and try to dictate to them, you can only do these two things, then you’re taking part of the art and part of the love of teaching away from the teachers. And that’s going to transfer the students.”
As students’ experiences are standardized, concerns express a lack of diversity within the county and the school.
“I do think that there’s something to be said for students being able to be exposed to different styles of teaching. Not every teacher teaches things the same way or in the same style. And I think that’s good,” Graham said.
A lack of preparation from MCPS is also felt in their expectations for teachers and schools.
“The reality of the fact is that schools do not have, you know, 600 or more copies of every single book that they decided they wanted us to have sitting on their shelves. We simply can’t do it. So we have had to go to some of the other texts that are on the secondary list,” Graham said.
MCPS curriculum changes are nothing new; Maryland’s largest school district is constantly tweaking and refining what its students are being taught. A similar standardization to the 10th-grade curriculum happened to the English 9 curriculum last year.
“There’s certainly nothing wrong with questioning how you’re doing and finding ways to get it done. But I just don’t know that that can come from people who are not associated strongly with what’s happening in the classroom. The communication with those above us is nonexistent. There is no communication, nor is there any avenue for communication, because they don’t want to hear the complaints.” Graham said.
As teachers feel disconnected from MCPS, they have each tried to find their way to best navigate the new curriculum. Students just finished reading “The Odyssey” as advised by the county and are soon to start reading their next book, “Lord of the Flies”, as teachers have to find their way in between the lines to express their creativity.
“So, I think the best way that we can think about this is how can we approach everything we’ve been given with our own style, in our own creativity, and our own observations on what the students are engaged with? “10th-grade English teacher Jason Krakower said.
In finding their footing amongst the change, WJ’s English department has had to rely on its communication and each other, while trying to push forth what is best for the students.
