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Saturday, May 25, 2013

Toilet Paper and (Instructional) Tolerance | Cooperative Catalyst

Toilet Paper and (Instructional) Tolerance | Cooperative Catalyst:

Toilet Paper and (Instructional) Tolerance

This post was co-authored by @BeckyFisher73 and @ELeclere01. 
So, which do you prefer – over or under?  Just how did that preference come about?  Is it really a personal preference or is it something you learned to prefer because of a significant other?  What do you do when you enter into a bathroom where the toilet paper goes “the wrong way”?
Let’s say you are staying in a hotel room for three nights and as you are unpacking, you go to the bathroom and realize the easy-to-fix toilet paper is going “the wrong way”?  What would you do?  Not worry about it?  Take a second and flip it around?  Call down to the front desk and lodge a complaint about the TP?  What are you willing to tolerate?
Can you imagine spending this much time agonizing over the direction that toilet paper comes off the roll in a hotel room?  While it may be a minor annoyance, most would agree that ignoring it or exerting minimal effort to switch it to your preference would be the appropriate response.  Once switched, you can go on about your stay absent perseverance over such a detail.  But now, imagine your room is equipped with one of those Alcatraz-like toilet paper guards, lest a guest make off with a roll or two.  Suddenly, that small blip in your vacation can become a source of major headache.  A simple preference, which can be addressed in a matter of seconds, has

I have a cunning plan…

Next year, we’re planning on implementing a new SIS and gradebook at our school. Groundbreaking news, eh? The kicker is that our new gradebook supports individual assignments for individual students.
Think about that for a second.
For the first time, I can build assignments that are specific to an individual student, and not have to worry about the hassle of reporting said assignments in a gradebook designed for assignments given out to the entire class.
This makes me excited. Thrilled, even! I’ve been differentiating for a few years now, as best as I can, but my efforts have been hampered by the need to create the same assignments for each student. Sure, Tracey’s got an essay and Mark’s working on a short story, but they both need to be out of 35 and according the gradebook