Chapter 3: Collision Course: Postmodern Progressive Composition Pedagogy and Positivist Traditional Assessment

How often in my life is there a schism between theory and practice? I am a progressive educator. A constructivist. A Deweyan. I believe in my core that human beings are seekers of knowledge, and to teach in a constructivist manner is to foster that very humanness. Yet, when my oldest daughter did not want to take an extended family trip, and instead wanted to spend the summer with her friends, I bribed her with getting her ears pierced when we returned. When my son scampered across the muddy yard in his socks because he didn’t want to take the time to put on his shoes, I told him he lost the privilege to jump on the trampoline the next day. Sometimes as a parent, I am a behaviorist. Rewards and punishments. A Skinnerian.