10/03/12State Education Superintendent Touts New Curriculum in Natchitoches
The Town Talk (La.) (10/03/12) Guidry, LeighLouisiana State Superintendent of Education John White visited sixth- and seventh-grade math classes at Natchitoches Magnet School, and said that just adding "I can" motivates students, and "good teachers are motivators also. It's a hard thing to do but at the same time it's critical." White said that under Louisiana Believes students will be assessed throughout the year, providing more opportunity for a good test day, and the tests will be better reflections of the year's subject matter and the students' critical thinking ability. The new assessments will be fully implemented in the 2014-15 school year, though they already have been slight changes for English classes. The key shift with Common Core is the demand for higher-ordered thinking, which places the focus on the why behind an answer and the evidence to support that why. White noted that because Sarah Rachal, a teacher at Natchitoches Magnet School, asks "her kids to articulate how they arrived at an answer, write it down as an individual, share it together, and then she holds them accountable before the class, she allows the kids enough time to wrestle with the answer and then guides them. Overall, it's the kind of teaching we need to see."
