For Thanksgiving this year I headed upto Michigan. I was able to spend some quality time with my family and friends and it was fantastic. We ended up with something like 22 people at our house and it was awesome. I'll upload some pics later. For dessert we had something like 38 desserts well not quite, but there were like 14 of them. They filled an entire 4x8 table, it was ridiculous. Needless to say, after an entire day of eating it was a challenge to get in line with everyone else. While I was there I noticed lots of different strategies. Some folks opted for a small bite of everything, others chose 2-3 favorites. My brother opted to wait another hour because he had passed out from eating too much earlier in the day. I opted for a mixture of everything and 5 minutes into eating I realized I was doomed. I made the only choice possible, I waved the white flag pulled out the aluminum foil and put it in the fridge. Don't worry I consumed it that night later at like 10:30.
So what does this have to do with education? I would like to argue a lot. To maximize each person's thanksgiving day eating experience they had options. They could select what they wanted and when they wanted it. They could go at their own pace and If they didn't want any then well they could take some home for later. This is differentiation done right. Coincidentally, my dad and I had a great talk this morning about an article in the Grand Rapids Free Press detailing the efforts of several Michigan schools and districts trying to achieve this level of individual differentiated instruction. There are tons of challenges, but I really think this is e future of education in our country. Students receiving custom instruction where they progress when they demonstrate mastery and show themselves to be ready. Not when they are a given a test. Who knew desserts could offer insights into learning.
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