Teachers, Lesson Plans, and the Student: Conflicting Federal and State Standards

"'That's the reason they're called lessons,' the Gryphon remarked: `because they lessen from day to day" (Carol, 2005). Secondary School Teachers are quickly becoming overwhelmed and losing site of their goals due to complex Federal and State standards. The objective must be understandable to the student yet meet the requirements of 'No Child Left Behind' and the accompanying rules of each state. The result is that fewer and fewer teachers are creating their own lesson plans and are instead turning to prepackaged sources for their materials. How can a teacher in the classroom satisfy conflicting Local, State and
Federal Guidelines and not be 'Mad as a Hatter'?

Taking the Mystery out of Lesson Plans and Curriculum

Lesson Plans and Curriculum seem like a mysterious foreign language for those who are unaccustomed to the terminology utilized within educational circles. State standards are based on National guidelines but they may either meet or exceed those goals. The resultant system of varying guidelines from State to state has been very confusing to teachers who simply want to utilize existing curricula and teach the student what they need to know to thrive in our society. Junior Achievement grew into that niche and became a source for Business courses that met or exceeded state guidelines in all fifty states. What Junior Achievement does is prepackage state standards for the teachers by supplying lesson plans, books and materials designed to meet the standards for individual courses in each state. However, both Curriculum and Lesson plans are fairly easy to understand if you begin by examining how the words are used in the field of education.

What is Curriculum?