Revisiting the Shadow Syllabus: An Education Must-Read by Sonya Huber

Feature by

In 2014, author and teacher Sonya Huber published the Shadow Syllabus on her blog. It was originally meant to be a personal manifesto of sorts — “written to discover what I actually thought about my syllabi,” she explains — but it evolved into something more. Teachers shared it with their students, and it went viral, resonating with many readers.

As we recognize educators on National Teacher Day, let’s revisit snippets from Sonya’s syllabus, which is just as relevant today.

Those who aim for A’s don’t get as many A’s as those who abandon the quest for A’s and seek knowledge or at least curiosity.

The goals and outcomes I am required to put on my syllabus make me depressed; they are the illusion of controlling what cannot be controlled.

Our flaws make us human; steer toward yours. I steer toward mine. That won’t always be rewarded in “the real world.”

“The real world” isn’t the real world.

I think I have more to teach you about navigation than about commas, although I’m good at commas.

This is about commas, but it is also about pauses and breaths and ways to find moments of rest in the blur of life’s machinery.

One of you who is filled with hate for this class right now will end up loving it by the end.

One of you who I believe to be unteachable and filled with hate for me will end up being my favorite.

I want you, especially, to come talk to me.

Welcome. Welcome to this strange box with chairs in it. I hope you laugh and surprise yourself.

Read the entire Shadow Syllabus on Sonya Huber’s blog.

20 Comments

  3. Lesson plans are never simple enough, or they can have too much in them. I worked more on the plans than any part of preparation, because if I didn’t have the plan in mind, I could afford to be creative. I believe spontaneous creativity is really a good lesson plan.

    Liked by 9 people

  4. I couldn’t monitor what I wrote, so I will write it differently. If I didn’t have the plan in mind, I couldn’t afford to be creative. Planning was the most important part of the teaching. I taught to the objectives, but there are several ways to teach the same thing. I believe students who are too, quiet, are thinking about something else, and they aren’t concentrating on the lesson. Keep the plan moving, even if you have to teach more than they are used to. Get the class active, after you have taught them. It works for anything you teach, especially math, or language, or Social studies. Kids look bored. They need to be motivated.

    Liked by 7 people

  6. Listen, standardized tests are the only fair way to extract skill levels because kids would freak out even more in any other testing situation. This is all a fact of life. If not, please (no sarcasm) explain a better alternative to standardized testing that results in effective and fair means of having shown pure ability.

    Liked by 6 people

Comments are closed.