Angie addressed tbe topic of Can Do statements in 2015 here. What she wrote could apply to almost any aspect of traditional language education. I felt a deep connection to every word. If someone asked me why I am so opposed to the old ways, and why I condemn advocating output too early, I would point to what Angie wrote right here:
“This is the first time I’ve come across the “Can-Do” statements, but when I think about Can Do Statements I can feel that knot in my stomach and throat that warns that here comes that thing in education that forces you to exit your heart and common sense in order to conform to some lonely, brain-centered expectation that makes a new teacher like me feel like I’m doomed before I get started. It SOUNDS logical and rational but it can have a truly evil core. It SOUNDS like it’s about teachers collaborating but it secretly divorces teachers from connection with their real, actual students. This is the kind of stuff that buried me the first time around and I am not even going to read about it until I am a more experienced and confident teacher.”