As an educator, I want children to view learning as an adventure as exciting as finding that perfect place to play--a perfect tree that they can climb when they want to imagine the vast possibilities of their own lives and that of others, a place where they can look up at the sky and wonder, as only children can, "why?" about the world they inhabit. Many children never experience learning as an adventure, an experience that is more than drill and kill with practice worksheets, test preparation, dull lessons, and unmotivating classroom enviroments. My vision of learning is that with the right roadmap and strategies, both children and teachers experience learning as joyful, meaningful, and related to the world they inhabit. Does this mean that I have forgotten the importance of mastering state learning objectives? Not at all. But reaching this goal can be obtained by following a different path than the one many schools are currently taking. I suggest creating a district and campus roadmap that is a framework for staff development, curriculum goals, and instructional strategies. But why a roadmap? The beauty of the roadmap concept is that it keeps educators focused on the destination--quality curriculum, quality instruction, and quality learning within a given amount of time. The number of teaching days available to educators keeps shrinking as more demands are made on schools to take on the roles of social worker, parent, physician, and social planner. This makes it imperative that schools have an achievable plan that respects the what research says about how children learn best. Let me work with your school district to map out your district and writing campus goals by building an effective writing program around the components of effective writing.
K-2 Writing Road Map & 3-8 Writing Road Map available for purchase. Contact Dr. Petri at dpetri1942@earthlink.net for information.	Assess student writing to determine the writing strengths and weakness of your students. Create a Writing Roadmap that addresses the needs of your district or campus. Determine program goals and priorities. Provide staff development in an on-going collegial format. Measure progress. Meet goals!
"The beautiful part of writing is that you don't have to get it right the first time, unlike, say, a brain surgeon. You can always do it better, find the exact word, the apt phrase, the leaping simile." Robert Cormier