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October2003|Volume61|Number2
TeachingAllStudentsPages611

DecidingtoTeachThemAll
CarolAnnTomlinson
Askingtherightquestionshasanenormousimpactonhowwepursueequityandexcellenceinour
classrooms.
Severalyearsago,IwastalkingwithacolleaguewhowasteachinginacenterbasedschoolforstudentswhoseIQ
scoresregisteredabove140.Shethoughtdeeplyabouthowtostretchherstudents,whoseceilingsofpossibilityoften
gounexploredinheterogeneousclassrooms.Shewasagoodteacherinthatsetting.Sheknewit.Herstudentsknew
it.Theirparentsknewit.SoIwassurprisedbywhatshesaidthatday.
Iwanttogobacktoageneraleducationclassroomnextyear,shebegan.
IwanttoseewhatwouldhappenifItriedteachingthiscurriculumtoavariedgroupofstudents.IbelieveIcould
makeitwork,andit'simportanttometoknowwhetherIcan.
Shegotherwish.Hernewgroupof5thgradersinadifferentschoolthefollowingyearwascertainlydiverse.Shehad
studentswithidentifiedspecialeducationneeds,studentswhocouldnotyetreadinanymeaningfulway,studentswho
werelearningtospeakEnglish,studentswhowereworkingatgradelevel,andstudentswhoweremorecapablethan
manyinherpreviousschool.Shetaughtthemallofthemthehighchallengecurriculumthatshehadbeenusing
withherclassofveryadvancedlearners.
Tosaythatnoproblemsemergedandthateveryonerosefairytaleliketothechallengewouldbesatisfying.Butit
wouldnotbehonest.
Thetruthisthatmyfriendhadtomakemanyadaptationsinhernewclassroomthatwerenotnecessaryinherformer
setting.Shehadtofindtimetoworkintensivelywithstudentswhowerenotyetliteratetoensuretheirgrowthinthe
gatekeeperskillsofreadingandwriting.Shehadtofindwaystosupportsomestudentswhosecaregiverscouldnot
providetransportation,Internetaccess,orprojectmaterials.Shehadtoteachinquiryskillstomanystudentswhohad
notpreviouslyencounteredthem.Sheevenhadtofigureoutnewwaystoextendtheadvancedcurriculumforstudents
whosereachalreadyexceededitsparameterswhentheyearbegan.
Inmanyways,thisveteranteacherfeltlikeanovice.Shewasn'talwayssurehowtoarrangetimetoworkwithsmall
groupsofstudentswithparticularneeds.Sheoftenwasn'tcertainhowtoexpressabstractideassothattheconcrete
thinkerscouldconfidentlyapproachthem.Butfromthebeginningoftheyear,onefactwasclear:Herclassroomwasa
magnetforeachstudentwhospent5thgradewithher.
Discoverywasagiven.Doingwasawayoflife.Studentslearnedtodobetterthanwhattheyperceivedtobetheirbest.
Skillshadanidentifiablepurpose.Schoolwastheplacetobe.Learningwasthethingtodo.Noonewantedtheyearto
end.
Wecouldsaythatthisteacherdecidedtodifferentiateinstructioninamixedabilityclassroomthatshedecidedto
teachthemallinaheterogeneoussetting.Itwouldbetemptingtosaythatshewasaposterteacherfordifferentiation
ofinstruction.
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ButIlearnedsomethingmoreimportantfromherandherstudents.AsIwatchedtheirjourney,Irealizedthatshewas
askingasetofquestionsaboutteachingdifferentfromthoseweoftenaskaprofoundlyimportantsetofquestions.

FramingtheQuestions
Mycolleaguehadalreadyposedthemostfundamentalofthequestionsrelatedtoacademicallydiversepopulations:
DoIintendtoteacheachindividualchild?
Althoughthereseemstobeonlyoneanswertothequestion,therealityismorecomplex.Thecircumstancesof
teachingmakeitfarmorelikelythatwerespondbysaying,IintendtoteachthecurriculuminasreasonableawayasI
knowhow,andIhopethatmostofthestudentswillrespond.
Myfriend'sanswersignaledherwillingnesstoacceptresponsibilityforthesuccessofeachindividual,regardlessofthe
circumstancesofthatstudent'slife.
Toteacheachstudentfromhisorherpointofentryintothecurriculumandperspectiveasalearnerismorethan
difficult.Itisagoalbeyondthegraspofeventhemostexpertteacher.Theoutcomeforstudentswhoareoutliers,
however,islikelytobevastlydifferentwhenateacherpursuesthatelusivegoalthanwhentheteacherbyintentor
defaultabandonsit.Thisparticular5thgradeteacherelectedtoteachinpursuitofthatgoal,andhercommitment
madeaworldofdifferenceinherclassroom.
Mycolleagueaskedotherquestionsaboutheracademicallydiverselearnersandhowshewouldrespondtothem.
ThewaysheframedherquestionswasdifferentfromwhatIsuspectiscustomary,andthesubtledifferencesyielded
powerfuldistinctionsinherwork.
Thisteacherdidnotask,Whatlabelsdomystudentshave?Rather,sheasked,Whataretheirparticularinterestsand
needs?Becauseneedsratherthanlabelsguidedherinstruction,studentsmovedfreelyamongpeersand
opportunities.Bothherteachingandherstudentsseemedlessrestricted,freer.
Shedidnotask,Whataremystudents'deficits?Instead,sheasked,Whataretheirstrengths?Althoughsheclearly
understoodtheneedtopatchholesinthefabricoftheirproficiency,beginningwithwhatstudentscoulddochanged
thetoneoftheclassroomandthewillofreluctantlearners.
Inplaceofasking,HowdoIremediatestudents?,shepondered,WhatcanIdotoensurethateachstudentworksatthe
highestlevelofthoughtandproductionpossible?Sheunderstoodthatpurposepropelshumanbeingsandthatrich,
purposefulcurriculumpropelsstudentstomasterwhateverskillstheyneedtosucceed.
Thisteacherdidnotask,HowcanImotivatethesestudents?Instead,shewondered,Whatreleasesthemotivation
borninallhumans?
Shedidnotask,WhatdoIdoifastudentcannotaccomplishmyagenda?Sheasked,HowmightIadapttheagendato
workforthestudent?
Ialsocametounderstandthesubtlebutcrucialdistinctioninoneothercommonschoolquestion.Myfrienddidnotask,
Whereshouldweputthisstudent?Instead,sheasked,Whatcircumstanceswillbethemosteffectivecatalystforthis
student'sdevelopment?
Takensingly,thequestionsareinterestingandfruitful.Takenasagroup,theyaretransformational.Theyarequestions
insearchofequityandexcellenceforeachlearner.

SeekingEquityandExcellence
TheUnitedStateshasalwaysbalancedprecariouslyonthetwinvaluesofequityandexcellence.Asapeople,we
believethatbirthinalogcabinshouldnotbeabarriertotheboardroomortheOvalOfficeandthatallcitizensshould
haveaccesstotheopportunitiesthatwillhelpthemrealizetheirpotential.
Similarly,weclingtoavisionoftheUnitedStatesasrepresentingthebest.Westandforthefastestcars,thetallest
buildings,thefinestmedicalcare,andthemostinnovativetechnology.Wearecommittedtoexcellence.Lettheworld
generateaproblem:Wewillsolveit.
Toloseeitherequityorexcellenceasaguidingvaluewouldbetoloseouridentity.Tomaintainboth,however,isa
balancingactofthehighestorder.Andthechallengeisperhapsgreatestintheschoolsthatshapeyoungpeopletobe
goodstewardsofthesevalues.Althoughwedon'toftenthinkabouttheimpactofeducationdecisionsonthebalance
betweenequityandexcellence,manydecisionspushthefulcruminonedirectionortheotherforindividuallearners,
groups,orschoolsasawhole.
Acurriculumfurthersexcellencewhenitopensdoorstoapromisingtomorrow.Instructionfurthersexcellencewhenit
movesalearneraseffectivelyaspossibletowardexpertiseasathinker,problemsolver,andproducer.And
procedures,policies,andpracticesfurtherequitywhentheymaximizethelikelihoodthateachlearnerwillbeafull
participantinanexcellencebasededucation.
The5thgradeteacher'squestionswereherguidepoststoachievingequityandexcellenceforthewidestpossible
rangeofstudents.Herdecisiontomovefromaschoolwhereacomplex,dynamiccurriculumwasagiventoa
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classroomwherethatwaslesslikelywasanexcellencebaseddecision.Shewantedtoensurethatamaximum
numberofstudentsseethemselvesasworthyofwrestlingwithideasandissues,justasadultsdo.
Hadshemadeanyotherassumptioninhermixedabilityclassroom,hermostablestudentswouldhaveexperienced
excellencedevoidofchallengeandsweat.Forsuchstudents,thissortofpseudoexcellenceisatfirstseductivebut
ultimatelycrippling.Sherefusedtobeathiefofchallengeforhermostadvancedlearners.Beginningwithhighquality
curriculumandinstructionisaprecursortoexcellenceforanystudent.Forthisteacher,labelsdidnotdefineaccessto
qualityofthoughtorproduction.Rather,qualitywasthefoundationfromwhichlearningforallstudentscouldemanate.
Equityinthisteacher'sclassroomwasalsocentral.Herpivotal,equitybaseddecisionwasdeterminingthatawide
rangeoflearnersshouldhaveaccesstoexcellence.Thensheimmediatelybeganaskingherself,HowdoIsupport
eachstudent'spersistentmovementtowardexcellenceandexpertise?Equitynotonlygrantsaccessbutalsosupports
success.Aplantoteachstudentsskillsthattheyhadmissedinthepastwasinoperation,butneverasanendinitself.
Suchremediationwasalwaysintheserviceofacceleration.

GrapplingwiththeMessinessofTeaching
Uncertaintyisinherentinteaching.Althoughwecanseldomguaranteetheresultsofourdecisions,wemustmake
decisions,nonetheless.Inatimewhenwefindourstudentpopulationsbecomingexponentiallymorediverse,westill
findourselvesaskingsuchquestionsas,Whatistherightlabelforthischild?Isthegeneralclassroombestorisa
resourcesettingpreferable?Candifferentiationmeetthespecializedlearningneedsofstudents?Shouldspecialists
focustheirenergiesonstudentsorteachers?
Therealityisthatthesequestionsleadusnowhere.Labelsoftenstigmatizewithoutofferingacounterbalancingbenefit.
Somegeneralclassroomscripplestudents,andothergeneralclassroomsarealmostholyintheircapacitytoevokethe
bestinawiderangeoflearners.Likewise,someresourceroomsbecomeprisonlikeinlimitingoptionsforstudents
whobecomedependentonthem,whereasotherresourceroomsopenaccesstoabetterfuture.
Differentiationcanreinforcestatus,ordifferentiationcanliberatestudentsfromstereotypicalexpectations.One
specialistcantouchhundredsoflivesthroughsuccessfulcollaborationwithasingleteacher,whereasotherspecialists
arewastingtheirtimeattemptingcollaboration.Students,evenofagivencategory,differgreatly.Thecontextsin
whichwemightprovideservicesforthemdefygeneralization.
Ifwereframethequestionsthatweask,atectonicshiftmightoccurinhowwemakedecisionsonbehalfof
academicallydiverselearners.Not,Whatlabels?but,Whatinterestsandneeds?Not,Whatdeficits?but,What
strengths?Not,Howdoweremediate?(orevenHowdoweenrichthestandardcurriculum?)but,Howdowe
maximizeaccesstotherichestpossiblecurriculumandinstruction?Not,Howdowemotivate?but,Whatwouldittake
totapthemotivationalreadywithinthislearner?Not,Whichkindofsetting?but,Whatcircumstancesmaximizethe
student'sfullpossibilities?
Ultimately,justonequestionmightbestservediverselearners,theirteachers,andtheirsociety.Whatcanwedoto
supporteducatorsindevelopingtheskillandthewilltoteachforeachlearner'sequityofaccesstoexcellence?

PrinciplesforFosteringEquityandExcellenceinAcademicallyDiverseLearners
Goodcurriculumcomesfirst.Theteacher'sfirstjobisalwaystoensureacoherent,important,inviting,and
thoughtfulcurriculum.
Alltasksshouldrespecteachlearner.Everystudentdeservesworkthatisfocusedontheessentialknowledge,
understanding,andskillstargetedforthelesson.Everystudentshouldberequiredtothinkatahighlevelandshould
findhisorherworkinterestingandpowerful.
Whenindoubt,teachup!Goodinstructionstretcheslearners.Thebesttasksarethosethatstudentsfindalittletoo
difficulttocompletecomfortably.Besurethere'sasupportsysteminplacetofacilitatethestudent'ssuccessatalevel
thatheorshedoubtedwasattainable.
Useflexiblegrouping.Findwaysandtimefortheclasstoworkasawhole,forstudentstodemonstratecompetence
alone,andforstudentstoworkwithvariedgroupsofpeers.Usingonlyoneortwotypesofgroupscausesstudentsto
seethemselvesandoneanotherinmorelimitedways,keepstheteacherfromauditioningstudentsinvaried
contexts,andlimitspotentiallyrichexchangesintheclassroom.
Becomeanassessmentjunkie.Everythingthatastudentsaysanddoesisapotentialsourceofassessmentdata.
Assessmentshouldbeanongoingprocess,conductedinflexiblebutdistinctstages,anditshouldmaximize
opportunitiesforeachstudenttoopenthewidestpossiblewindowonhisorherlearning.
Gradetoreflectgrowth.Themostwecanaskofanypersonandtheleastweoughttoaskistobeandbecome
theirbest.Theteacher'sjobistoguideandsupportthelearnerinthisendeavor.Gradingshould,inpart,reflecta
learner'sgrowth.
AdaptedfromDifferentiationinPractice:AResourceGuideforDifferentiatingCurriculum,Grades59,byCarolAnn
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TomlinsonandCarolineCunninghamEidson(ASCD,2003).

CarolAnnTomlinsonisProfessorofEducationalLeadership,Foundations,andPolicyStudies,CurrySchoolofEducation,
UniversityofVirginia,P.O.Box400277,Charlottesville,VA22904cat3y@virginia.edu.

KEYWORDS
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