Talk about an issue as important and at the same time politicized as the education. It's always a delicate matter. Each person builds their perspective based on their experiences, their training, and the context in which they work. In this context, the voice of Nancie atwell is especially relevant.
Nancie Atwell, winner of the Global Teacher Prize (known as the Nobel Prize for teaching) of the Varkey Foundation, he explained in an interview with the magazine Edutopi to some of the keys that, in his opinion, underlie the best way to educate. His perspective is supported by decades of teaching experience and for his work at the head of the Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL), a school he founded in Maine geared toward research and dissemination of educational methods effective that is a reference today.
Do not settle for a docile student
Atwell points out that teachers often settle for a docile student, as if children could only be obedient or resist authority. This view impoverishes the classroom because it categorizes students as submissive or failures. The goal, he insists, must be different: commitment of the student with his learning.
In the CTL this goal translates into a great autonomy of students to choose activities, readings and writing topics. This is not a lack of guidance, but rather a teacher who designs contexts, offers scaffolding and trusts in the decision capacity of the children. Atwell reminds us that the teacher is not a mere executor of instructions: he is a intellectual professional who investigates, observes and makes informed decisions in the day-to-day classroom.
This approach is based on a premise: when the student chooses and perceives that his or her voice matters, increase motivation and responsibilityDocility gives way to curiosity, and curiosity sustains the sustained effort required to learn deeply.
Students must read and freely choose their readings
In the CTL children read an average of 40 books a year, of multiple genres and formats. The key difference from most programs is that students They can choose what they read according to their interests and reading level. In addition, the school ensures a daily reading time in the classroom and proposes continuing at home, a habit that consolidates the competence and the love of reading.
The environment is essential: the CTL classrooms and library accumulate thousands of titles carefully selected so that there is always something that connects with each reader, and the faculty makes personalized recommendationsIf a book doesn't appeal, the student can abandon it and try another; learning to choose is part of the process.
This model coexists with a writing workshop in which students choose their topics, write in different genres, share drafts, and receive frequent feedback. Reading widely and writing widely, with purpose and authentic choice, mutually reinforce each other.
CTL classrooms are diverse: there may be students with dyslexia, ADHD, or other specific learning difficulties. Atwell maintains that, with support and a variety of offerings, the reading habit is possible for everyone. At the end of each reading, students usually write letters to the teacher about their reading experience and maintain frequent conversations to deepen understanding, vocabulary and strategies.
If you are interested in this topic, I recommend an article that I wrote a while ago in Actualidad Literatura entitled Children, books and programs to encourage reading: Reflections.
Atwell describes the state they pursue as the reading area: a moment of immersion where the reader concentrates, imagines and connects with stories that captivate them. This state is not achieved with closed lists or poor adaptations, but with significant books, space, relative silence and literary conversation before and after reading.
Parents need to trust both teachers and students
For Atwell, one of the key difficulties is that neither students trust teachers nor teachers trust students. "The problem arises when we don't trust the children's good decisions.", he says. And he adds: there is also a lack of confidence that teachers have Sufficient resources to guide their students in the right direction.
Therefore, the relationship with families is part of the method. In the CTL the students prepare briefcase With evidence from all areas, sets goals and explains their learning process. Sometimes, students themselves lead meetings with their parents and teachers to show achievements and decide upcoming challengesThis practice increases responsibility, encourages self-regulation, and aligns expectations between home and school.
Trust is not the absence of limits, but coherenceIf a book is unsuitable, the teacher helps them choose an alternative that better suits the age, sensitivity, and moment of each child. In this way, the adult protects without indiscriminately censoring and respects the progressive autonomy of the reader.
To get good results, education has to be fun
For many parents and teachers, fun in the classroom is suspect. Atwell proposes freeing education from this prejudice: quality learning can and should be enjoyable. Now, the fun that he pursues is intrinsic, not extrinsic. He criticizes practices such as "rewarding bicycles to those who read the most books" or "dyeing the director's hair if everyone reads ten biographies."
The key is to help students find books, topics and projects that truly matter to them. When that happens, reading and writing cease to be a chore and become a meaningful activity; it's sustained by curiosity and purpose, not rewards.
In addition, the classroom combines moments of silent reading with out loud reading, mini-lessons on vocabulary and intonation, and conversations about authors and genres. This variety maintains interest and allows each student to participate in their own style and pace, without disguising boredom as fun, but making interesting the important thing.
The teacher should not be limited
Atwell argues that educational policies that turn the teacher into a mere link between a predetermined curriculum and the student reduce teaching to a script. Good teaching, he says, "has nothing to do with opening the box and reading what it says," because it is a intellectual enterprise which requires observing, investigating, deciding and creating.
This approach also challenges narrow visions of academic success. The teacher warns of the risk of orienting the school solely toward the instrumental logic of productivity or an exclusive emphasis on technical areas. Without denying science or technology, she defends the centrality of the Humanities, the power of narrative and the need to educate people critical, empathetic and cultured, capable of understanding and telling stories that give meaning to the world.
In your classroom, away from constant multitasking, you train sustained attention: the ability to focus on a single activity in order to gain insight, understanding, and enjoyment. This skill informs both reading and writing and carries over to all areas of knowledge.
In education there should be no exams
Atwell rejects standardized tests, which she considers "rigged exercises, not even rigorous and a little ridiculous, that have nothing to do with the enjoyment of stories or self-expression"In his opinion, they generate a climate of paperwork and accountability that conditions all teaching decisions and displaces what is important.
Instead, he proposes authentic assessment: look at each child's achievements individually, in each discipline and with real evidence of performance. In the CTL each student must explain your process learning, show their work, reflect on their progress and set goals. Thus, assessment ceases to be an end and becomes a improvement engine.
This model includes frequent conversations between student and teacher, self-assessments, peer assessments, and family involvement at key moments. The result is a more accurate portrait of what each student knows and can do, and a culture that values ​​progress, autonomy and intellectual honesty.
Nancie Atwell's educational approach shows that when students and teachers are trusted, time for reading and writing is protected, chosen wisely, and assessed authentically, learning flourishes. The goal is not docility or compliance for compliance's sake, but rather passion for learning, sustained by habits, good books, rich conversations and a supportive community.