A Happy Medium?

In the Melinda case study, it bothers me a bit that Melinda and Barbara are such caricatures. I can’t help but feel as though there is a happy medium between their two styles, whereby Barbara could be a little more creative and Melinda a little more basic-skills oriented.
That said, here’s my overall reaction: Although I hate to say this, I think Barbara and Melinda’s friend Andrea might be right. When Melinda talks about her belief that her students will be more critical and creative thinkers, and better citizens, I tend to agree. The question is what the school is really asking her to do. If test scores are driving the process, then creative thinking is not being valued, except by Melinda. Or if it is, it must happen in addition rather than instead of basic skills instruction. As teachers, we can lament NCLB, or an overemphasis on test scores generally, but in the end we have a job to do. And until teachers are invited into the process, its goal will largely be determined by someone other than us, and often someone who has never been a classroom teacher. If Melinda can get her kids to the goal her way, all the better, but she will have to get them there.