Say Whaaat????

Recently I came across this statement:

       "...developing our instructional expertise and becoming more familiar 
        with the Common Core State Standards and the Danielson Framework 
       for Professional Practice. ... continue to focus more deeply on the learning 
       expectations put forth in the Common Core Standards and the pedagogical 
       practices aligned with those expectations."

Any guesses who the audience was?  I'll tell you in a minute....

As I read this, several key phrases popped out at me:
     Common Core State Standards
     Danielson Framework for Professional Practice
     pedagogical practices

As an aspiring teacher, I read over these words with understanding.

As a parent, without a teaching background, I thought "Say Whaaat?"

Photo of graffiti in London by Cabaret Voltaire <3.  Retrieved from Kaboodle.com

This message was sent to the parents of 700 elementary students.  My guess is that 95% of those parents thought, "Huh?" or maybe "What?" or maybe "Should I know what those words mean?"

What do I do with this?

I take this as a learning moment for me -  a reminder for the future.

  1)  Remember my audience: parents, colleagues, students, administrators.

  2) Consider my words as well as my message.

  3)  Remember that there are many terms, phrases, and acronyms that we use as teachers that mean little to those not in education.

  4)  Remember and consider the impact I want my writing to have on my reader.

  5)  Remember who I am and consider who I want to be on paper.

  6)  Remember to write to and for my audience and that my audience changes.

Most importantly, remember that I am always learning and lessons are everywhere!! Embrace them.