This year was tough. No sugarcoating it. I don’t know if it was being new at a school, trying to make the best out of a textbook that felt like a brick, or being told to follow it even when I knew it wasn’t right for the students. Structure? Absolutely. But textbook structure? Not it. The chapters were overloaded, the pacing felt artificial, and truth be told the cognitive load was off the charts.
A colleague reminded me of something simple: if students don’t know 95% of the vocabulary in a passage, comprehension will fall dramatically. That was us. All year. I watched kids stumble not just over words, but phrases and meanings we take for granted. For example, so many kids didn’t know the meaning of “conflict.” And it made everything feel harder, every reading, every discussion, every attempt to stretch thinking.
Still, I tried to keep showing up the only way I know how: with EduProtocols, lessons built on the science of learning, attention to cognitive load, and creativity. Some days? They worked. Some days? They didn’t. And honestly? The “not so great” days started to feel like they were outweighing the good ones.
But here’s what I can point to: these kids wrote. More than they ever had. I was told writing in social studies wasn’t part of their experience before this year. But we stuck with it Class Companion, Short Answer reps, writing routines, and honest feedback loops. It took time, it took struggle, but I watched growth happen on the page. That matters. That’s something.
I tried to raise the rigor, tried to stretch into DOK 2 and DOK 3 all year. But the climb was steep. I don’t know if I made an impact. Some days I really wonder. But then I hear my good friend and coauthor Dr. Scott Petri in my ear:
“Moler, you worry too damn much. Your worst day of teaching is probably someone’s best day.”
So here’s to holding onto that.
Here’s to writing gains, honest effort, and showing up—especially on the hard days.
And now: I’m onto new things. More to come on that in the future.
Moler's Musings 