Fidelity.

A word that is used quite frequently in education and often connected to a particular program or curriculum. It’s one of those “nails on a chalkboard” words for me, as it’s tossed around so often without a lot of discussion or conversation regarding its meaning or what it looks like in classrooms with actual children. Let’s take a look at what fidelity means. According to Webster, fidelity is the quality or state of being faithful and accuracy in details. Because I am curious about words and what they mean, I read further. 

Fidelity came to English by way of French in the 15th century, and can ultimately be traced back to the Latin fidēlis, meaning “faithful, loyal, trustworthy.” While fidelity was originally exclusively about loyalty, it has for centuries also been used to refer to accuracy, as in “questions about the fidelity of the translation.”  (Webster’s Dictionary website)

I’m left with questions regarding teaching with fidelity. Who are we being faithful to? A curriculum or children? What details are we challenged to be accurate about? A curriculum or children?

While teachers do not take an oath to become a teacher, I’ve personally always believed in, “first, do no harm”. For me, this means questioning and reaching for understanding about the “why” behind my pedagogy and always putting the children in my care and their needs first. Combining years of research, learning, observation and knowledge and continually seeking new research and learning is what I’ve found supports and sustains me as a teacher and allows the children in our classroom to truly thrive. Paying close attention to the details within the children in our classroom and what their needs are is at the heart of my work. No two days are ever the same. Teachers must continually think and reflect on the curriculum and how children are learning. There is not a script for teaching young children. 

Perhaps we need to rethink what we are teaching with fidelity. What are we faithful to? What if we were faithful to children? What if we put them first in our planning and interactions in the classroom?  What if we used many tools and resources, all supported by research and best practices, to teach? 

What if we taught with fidelity to children?

After I hit publish on this post, WordPress connected this post with one I wrote in 2017. As I reread those words, I wanted to reshare a portion here because it connects to this current post so well.

A teacher leader in my county once helped me reflect on the idea of fidelity vs. thoughtfulness. I keep coming back to that. Perhaps we need to be implementing new structures, programs, etc. with “thoughtfulness”, rather than “fidelity”. We need to look at the programs, curriculums and expectations our district and administration give us with a critical eye. We need to deconstruct these things together with our team, be thoughtful in our implementation, question and reflect on what works and what doesn’t.  As one of my former principals always says, “the answer is in the room”.  Talk, reflect and think together – don’t just blindly follow something from outside. We need to use the abundance of resources we have as departure points to launch our own best teaching. We need to keep talking, questioning and thinking with our team and on our own.  As I’ve said before, we teach children, not curriculum, programs or standards.