Weeding the Lawn

I am trying to grow lawn in my front yard. In May, we laid the dirt, sowed the seed, fertilised and watered it. Now it looks a bit patchy, but it is decidedly lawn.
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That's why I found myself spending the morning on my hands and knees meticulously pulling up every weed that has invaded what is meant to be a nicely grassed area. It is a job that requires very little thought: so my mind wandered.

And my mental meandering ended up in the realm of education. In our classrooms there are also weeds. We need to be careful not to let these take over from our instruction. Each of the weeds I kept pulling up reminded me that we need to be vigilant for the weeds of education and make sure that we remove them- roots and all. 

Sorrel

Sorrel is a tangy, lemony flavoured herb. There is nothing wrong with sorrel, in fact it can be a great plant to grow. But if it is in the wrong place then it can take over. I would like grass, not herbs growing on my lawn.
In education there are plenty of good activities that find themselves in the wrong place. One prominent example is the use of problem solving prior to explicit instruction. If the teacher hasn't taught the skills necessary to solve the problem, then students will flounder and be left confused.
We need to be wary of sorrel and make sure that we are thinking carefully about how we craft our lessons and units to ensure that we maximise the learning opportunities.

Clover

Clover looks a bit like grass, but it ends up taking over. This means that the grass that I desire has no room to grow.
The clover of education are those practices that look like learning is occurring, but instead end up taking time and energy away from activities that could have more impact. Learning high-frequency words by rote is one example. Sure, it looks like students are learning to read, but it is taking time away from learning the phonics skills that would actually help students to learn how to decode these words. 
Clover needs to be removed from our classrooms so that we have the time, energy and space to focus on the things that will make the most difference to our students.

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Stinging Nettle

In a surprise to nobody, stinging nettle stings. It is harmful and can hurt when you touch it. When I lay a lawn for my children to run across, I didn't plan for them to get stung!
Unfortunately, there are harmful practices in education that have taken root. Three-cueing, and the reading strategies often promoted alongside it (Eagle Eyes, Lips the Fish, etc.) are some of the weeds that can cause damage to our students. These weeds have no place in education, and yet they are pervasive!
We need to eradicate these stinging nettles from our classroom. 

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Is there a weedkiller?

Unfortunately, I can't put a weed killer on my lawn because it can't distinguish between the grass I want to grow and the weeds I want to be rid of. So, I'm left on my hands and knees, painstakingly removing every single one that I encounter.
Removing the weeds from our classrooms take the same level of inspection. We need to critically reflect and examine our own practice to check that no weeds are creeping in. We also need to welcome the feedback of others and allow them to point out where these weeds may be taking root.
Our students deserve a lush lawn of education!