Free Time

The Louisiana Department of Education dictates all public school districts follow its comprehensive curricula, designed to prepare students for standardized tests administered to all public school students in grades 4-11. These curricula provide teachers with activities and grade level expectations (GLE’s) that should be covered and time schedules that should be followed. These comprehensive curricula have become a hotly debated topic since their inception, because many educators feel instructional creativity and personal teaching styles are being stifled. Teachers can no longer teach how and what they want to teach; they must follow the mandated guidelines. While the GLE’s are a main focus of these curricula, their pacing schedules can be adjusted slightly by the local school districts. In order to better ready students for the standardized tests, my local school district encourages teachers to complete the curricula before the tests are administered during the spring semester. One particular year, the local school district’s pacing chart labeled what remains of the school year after testing (about six weeks) as “free time.” This brief article is a reflection of my teaching experience during free time.