Nathaniel Hardt shares something revolutionary below when he suggests that there may be a way to plan our instruction/curricula that actually reflects how time and people interface in an academic year in school buildings, because there are different time periods that are shared in the collective unconscious of each group of people in each building in each academic year. If you can find a way to at least bring this term into the conversation the next time you are at a curriculum planning meeting, it may start something. The seed needs to be planted. This is such a truly fine idea – the suggestion is that teaching languages could become in some way tied to life outside the building. I made it into a category so you can find it easily if the opportunity presents itself. Like Nathaniel says, it’s not very likely but it’s worth at least knowing that this brand new idea exists, like a little seed right now but who knows what it might become?
Nathaniel writes:
“Part of teaching for life is something I hope to be able to incorporate into the curriculum map. (I actually don’t have much hope but it sounds impressive.)
“The curriculum needs to allow place for Rhythms of Life. Many CI teachers have been doing this for a long time with things like Sentence Frames (Harrell). I just sent the following to my coordinator:
It is called Rhythms of Life. This is a broad category that allows for a lot of personalization and student interest. It includes daily cycles (What’s the weather? Is Marlys ill today?) It includes weekly cycles (What are you going to do this coming weekend? What did you do this past weekend?) It includes monthly and annual cycles. It includes vacations and holidays, student birthdays, special days (like Mothers’ Day), and school events.
The key is that is done in L2. In a school that is more traditional and less personal this might be seen as a diversion from curriculum. I have found that it reinforces the curriculum in profound and personal ways. It make the language more real because the topic is the cyclic interests of students. Although it is constantly changing (and thereby peaking more interest), it tends to reinforce the same grammatical structures (What did you do? Where did you go? What did you see?)
Rhythms of Life is important because it celebrates the students, because it celebrates life, because it celebrates the rhythms of life.