At the Connecticut Reading Conference I’m talking to long-time colleague Jim Johnston. I tell him I’m blogging – “about what?” he asks. “About Passion,” I say. Jim chuckles. “Wow.” “About teaching!” I reply – “Passion about teaching!” That’s when I add the subtitle – the art and science of teaching. Here’s what’s on my mind -- it always seems to happen in education -- in an effort to quantify, analyze, and drive instruction with data, we’re throwing the baby out with the bath water. Passion, creativity, the professional discretion and heart of the teacher is getting poured down the drain and the tub is being filled with research, record keeping, documentation, rubrics, scripted lessons, …the list goes on. Now, let me be clear – using research to determine best practices and data to drive instruction is valuable, is necessary. But, when it becomes the WHOLE of what teaching is about, the hearts and souls of children become invisible, the humanity of the teacher lost. That’s a strong statement, but I believe it’s true. Teachers risk becoming cookie cutter facilitators of whatever the latest best practice is deemed to be. So what happens to passion? I know that the best teachers, the ones I remember as having changed my life all had passion for their subjects and taught in, often, unconventional ways that uniquely reflected who they were. As a student, having the opportunity to see into the heart of my teacher, in and through the creative, demanding lessons and activities they developed – this is what inspired and empowered me. There was Mrs. Sherry, who made the old-fashioned, rather stilted style of the Scarlet Letter come to life through her feminist zeal, Fr. John Schomtzer, S.J. who proclaimed (as if it was gospel!) “Barbara, Angelina, you are a WRITER!”, and my third grade teacher, Wanda Babjack who encouraged me to write poetry in my free time, even when I should have been drilling my basic math facts. These people changed my life, without, directly and intentionally increasing my degrees of reading power or scores on standardized tests. Why can’t we do both? Why can’t data and documentation take its place informing the passion that truly empowers children to learn and grow as human beings? Why do we continue to throw the baby out with the bath water (remember when the WHOLE LANGUAGE movement deemed PHONICS a dirty word??!) Why can’t we trust the “way of the middle” and the integrity, creativity, individuality, and professionalism of teachers? The ART of teaching? But, wait, I forgot. I’m preaching to the choir. How do you feel about the ways data-keeping, assessment, and accountability affect education?