We would no more expect a baseball manager to hire a pitcher who only throws curve ball than we, ourselves, would likely hire a carpenter who comes to work with only a screwdriver! What fisherman heads for the stream with only one lure or fly in his tacklebox? What doctor feels prepared for surgery with only a scalpel and sponge on her tray? Whether an athlete or fisherman, a carpenter or doctor, none is considered adequately prepared until she acquires and utilizes an assortment of strategies, tools, or instruments. We teachers, as professional educators, cannot hope or even be expected to teach successfully unless we equip ourselves with a range of strategies to entice and instruct our burgeoning classrooms of challenging boys and girls. Creativity and variety are what teachers need to achieve the goal of leaving no child behind.

Why? Consider what observers of society know to be true: humans learn in different ways. After years of research Dr. Howard Gardner wrote about it his book, Frames of Mind: The Theory of Multiple Intelligences (1993). This Professor in Cognition and Education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education indicates that each child is intelligent and therefore can be taught. Our task as teachers is to accept this fact and prepare to teach in the modality through when each student learns and expresses him or herself, whether the youngster is word smart, number smart, picture smart, body smart or people smart. For updates on this research see, Intelligence Reframed: Multiple Intelligences for the 21st Century (1999).

By reading about, seeing, and hearing what accomplished educators know and are able to do, teachers will become better equipped to teach the young men and women assigned to their classrooms. These successful educators meet standards not only because they know how to assess the learning levels and styles of their students, but also because these teachers deftly reach into their pedagogical toolkits and select just the right book, just the right approach, and develop just the right sequence of lessons to meet the needs of the students assigned to them each and every school year. Many of these teachers become proficient by remaining active in CATE, our professional organization. CATE takes seriously the expectation to keep our members informed about current research in teaching and learning and about practical classroom strategies. Not surprisingly, successful teachers are generous, too, willing to share their insight with those new to the profession and with those open to expanding or adding to their knowledge and repertoires. In fact, CATE conferences and workshops are designed to create such an interactive environment. California English always has articles about proven classroom practices. CATEnet offers almost instantaneous responses to inquiries and conducts open discussions among educators around the state and across the nation.

CATE honors such teachers at our annual conventions by presenting Classroom Excellence Awards. Each council has the privilege of nominating an educator from its region. I received this award at the 1998 Convention held in Monterey and I know how gratifying it is to be recognized by one's peers. Each time I see the plaque, I recall that memorable day - listening to letters revealing how much my administrators, colleagues and students value my work in the classroom. So, do something affirming for a colleague and nominate him or her for next year's award. In the same vein, CATE acknowledges that we educators cannot be successful in the classroom without the contribution of community members and neighborhood organizations. It is to these supporters that the nine councils give their Award of Merit. Contact your local council president with names of educators of excellence in your school and community folk of merit. Council presidents are listed on the website (CATEweb.org).

Yes, we professional educators must be as skillful and versatile as athletes and fishermen and as prepared as carpenters and surgeons. We must intentionally develop the insight to assess the diverse situations we face in our classrooms; we must skillfully use teaching tools and scientifically proven methods; equally important, we must creatively adapt them all to lure, catch, and reel in the young people with the eclectic learning styles we know they have. We must cast a wide net, skillfully woven of strategies for the visual, auditory, and kinetic learners. We will become versatile and inventive, attracting our students with challenging literature that interests them, and we will begin to offer opportunities in writing that allow students to express themselves articulately about the literature and about life. Scientifically researched strategies such as those developed for reaching multiple intelligences will help insure that no child is left behind.

Anna J. Roseboro