"That's Socrates, one of the Great Thinkers!"

High quality instruction materials (HQIM) are not the only thing that matter in school. But they do make a huge difference!

I've been supporting adoption and implementation of HQIM for the last 11 years as an educational consultant - and the whole time, I've truly believed that they support equitable access, rigor, and engagement. But now, as a parent, I've seen the difference.

Our home district adopted ELA HQIM this year, and I was thrilled when the teachers chose CKLA as their option. From professional experience, I knew there would be bumps in the road to launch during year 1 (with both the skills and knowledge units), and I was nervous that teachers might not get the support they need for a successful launch. But the message from the district and school leadership was to prioritize the materials and work collaboratively in grade-level groups to plan instruction, and now we are almost four months into implementation.

It's kind of magical to hear your kids talk about school in general - but the way my kids (a daughter in grade 2 and twin sons in grade 4) talk about what they are learning now is vastly different than what it has sounded like in the past.

Take this for example: Last month, my kids and I were watching Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure (which, if you are looking for a film for your kiddos from the 90s, holds up fairly well aside from a few inappropriate comments). The scene cut to Bill and Ted arriving in Ancient Greece, and zooms in on an outside amphitheater. My daughter's face lit up, and she yells, "That is Socrates! He is one of the Great Thinkers!" She had just completed the Greek Gods and Greek Myths units. She proceeded to describe Ancient Greece and what was happening in the scene, truly excited to connect her learning from school to the movie.

Later on, the characters travel to France during the 1400s. My son calls out, "The Middle Ages!" and begins to describe the feudal system, including the serfs, the knights, the nobles and so on. His class had wrapped up the Middle Ages unit just a few months back.

I was floored.

These connections - to movies, daily conversation and other books they are reading have come so naturally this year. They are rich, built on knowledge, and thrilling for my kids. Because of their learning in school, they can connect this new schema to so many other things around them.

High quality materials are not a panacea. It's important to note these shifts don't come without challenges - inevitably, my kids complain of writing too much and they don't like when the teacher reads the text for them (let them read, please!). But the way their learning has transcended the classroom has been mind-blowing. It's been a gift to see them excited about what they know - and to affirm how much quality instruction can engage our young minds.