Who Moved My Standards?

Joyful Teaching in an Age of Change: A SOAR-ing Tale

This story will ring familiar to every teacher working to prepare students for an increasingly complex, rapidly changing world. The young squirrels and blue jays must learn to fly to a nut tree far in the distance, a task that has never been accomplished before, but the flight instructors aren’t sure how to teach all of them to do it. After trying direct instruction to no avail, they realize that the only way to help the youngsters succeed is to give them the skills they’ll need to figure it out for themselves.

In Who Moved My Standards?, author Michael D. Toth provides a touching parable that inspires educators to tackle rigorous new standards with renewed confidence and enthusiasm. The book includes a Resources section with the SOAR (Students’ Opportunities for Achieving Rigor) Rubric, a companion tool to standards-based lesson plans. The rubric drills down the differences between traditional (old economy), student-centered, and real-world applied (new economy) techniques for gathering student evidence.

Teaching becomes easier and much more enjoyable as students take responsibility for their own learning and the learning of their peers. This engaging story will help educators and learners soar higher and farther than they ever imagined.