Probably Overthinking Things
So it’s late at night, the rain woke me up, and instead of going back to bed I’m trying to cull from a bunch of resources to find a way to present information about the culture and religion of the Roman Empire to my students. These are the moments that really test my decision to move away from a textbook. I can’t figure out if the approach I’m taking is an improvement over the textbook or not. I feel like it’s good to have more control over the pacing and sequence of topics, and have the ability to sacrifice a little breadth to get depth. I think I’m presenting materials that are, overall, a better fit for my students than the district-assigned textbooks. But there are times when I feel like I’m exhausting myself to make a slightly better wheel. I’m really looking forward to having the chance this summer to reflect on all the things I’ve put together this year and figure out how to build on it, and feed into some more independent investigation and authorship for the students.
About Dave Thomer
Born and raised in Philadelphia. Studied philosophy at Fordham University in the Bronx, where I made many great friends and met my wonderful wife. We moved back to Philadelphia, where I studied philosophy some more and became a teacher. Online and off, I'm looking for ways that we can be better citizens and build stronger communities.