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Ingrid Waldron’s demonstration lecture and discussion/inquiry activity approach to teaching reminded me that the one resource teachers do not have in their education “toolbox” is time enough to employ co-constructive dialogue and inquiry based activities throughout their curricula. Teachers work under the constraints of standards; curricula predetermined outside the classroom, and standardized testing as a tool to evaluate both students and their teachers. They do not have the time to develop content through co-constructive dialogue and inquiry based hands-on activities for every topic required for the grade level or specific subject.

Until education in this nation loses its dependence on standardized testing to evaluate both students and teachers as well as to determine academic progression, teachers will not have the time to create classroom environments where students have time to ask the questions that allow their unconscious stories to provide the input to elicit responses, from their teachers and other students, that are necessary to revise their unconscious stories. This takes time.

Until education in this nation prioritizes content to reduce the amount considered necessary and recognizes process for the important role it plays all through life, teachers will not have the time to develop the structure in which to allow co-constructive inquiry as the primary educational methodology.

Each year, our science department faculty set aside a few meetings to coordinate the science curriculum from grades 1 to 12. We choose a topic, such as change in free energy or Delta G, and plot out how the topic is discussed at each grade level.  From this exercise, we see the spiraling and adjust our discussions and activities to enable smooth transition from grade to grade. The process usually begins with the grade in which the topic is most essential; in the example of Delta G, it is grade 10 chemistry. Perhaps this year, I will suggest a slightly different approach where we prioritize topics in an effort to streamline the curriculum and reduce the number of topics to allow time for a more inquiry based environment. Our science department consists of innovative and open minded faculty. Three members, other than me, have attended Summer Institutes, so I think that I will have many allies in this goal.