Be a part of the decision making, planning and development process.
That is the best way to feel free within the ever growing structure of local, state and even national curricula. I rarely feel constrained by my district’s curriculum. Mainly because we have so much to do that I don’t have time or energy to explore topics outside my grade level standards, but also because I belong to or have belonged to a variety of curriculum driven teams in the district. This has a given me a chance to talk to colleagues across grade levelsand not get lost in my own classroom or grade. These teams allow me to break out and see and hear what’s going on in different schools and classrooms in the district, the state and at a few national conferences I’ve attended, around the country. This perspective allows me to see that I am a piece of the educational puzzle for my students.
Instead of thinking, “Oh great, I have to teach immigration instead of Colonial America, which I find much more interesting and I have all those books I bought at that great sale and Borders, plus my Betsy Ross costume from third grade, not to mention my Kidz Bop The Best Colonial America Songs Sing Along CD …and then there’s my…..” I see the long term plan, K-12, for the students in my classroom. Without my piece, their puzzle is incomplete.
Since it’s impossible to teach everything a well-rounded high school graduate needs to know in one year, let alone just the topics that are of personal interest to me, there is comfort in seeing the continuum of education K-12. I see our curriculum documents as education insurance. They make sure that we don’t miss anything and that our students are covered.
Regardless of classroom or teacher, each student is guaranteed exposure to the learning he or she needs to progress. Our curriculum maps serve as guides as we navigate through the years. They allow me to make connections to past and future learning. For me, that structure is extremely freeing.
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Beth Cavalier grew up in Exeter, NH with her parents and two younger sisters. She graduated from Boston College in 1995 with a degree in Political Science. Working in a private pre-school in Connecticut after graduating inspired her to pursue her teaching certificate in special education at Westfield State College. After working in the Agawam Public School system as a Title 1 assistant for a year, she and her husband moved back to New Hampshire and she began working in Amesbury, MA as a special education teacher both in a self-contained setting and in a co-teaching model. When the opportunity presented itself, she became a general education teacher and taught a grade 2/3 loop for eight years. She is currently in her second year as a member of the fourth grade team and her thirteenth year of teaching in the Amesbury Public School system. Beth earned a master’s degree from Lesley University in Curriculum and Instruction with an emphasis in Literacy and a Certificate in Advanced Graduate Studies from Plymouth State University in School Leadership. She has served on various curriculum committees, the Writing Assessment Team, the Math Assessment Team and the Strategic Planning Team in Amesbury. She lives in the seacoast of New Hampshire with her husband and daughter. 
