Kristi Adkins 1971

Backward Planning & Literacy  

 I adopted Farrell’s backward planning model, which emphasizes original text and sustained literacy. This shaped alignment between the written, taught, and assessed curriculum. The backward model helps align the curriculum because it starts with identifying the goals and then creating the lessons. This goal-setting strategy, which starts with the final objective and works backward to determine the steps, milestones, and timelines needed to achieve it, is the best way to approach teaching English Language Arts. I can pinpoint the exact tasks required to get there by identifying the end goal first and accurately scheduling when each stage must begin.When teaching, I always set up my units this way. The lesson design is all about presenting students with a foundational text for every lesson. Instead of starting with a topic, we start with the end goal. In my classroom, reading, writing, and discussion are the primary mediums of learning.   

The backward planning model organizes lessons around original texts and promotes literacy and understanding. According to Zhu (2026), “It preserves spaces where students must grapple with language, ideas, and their own reasoning.” (Chapter 4). Being able to retain classroom participation with original texts, sustained literacy, and unhurried writing processes enhances curricular integrity. The quality of students’ interactions with ideas becomes apparent with this backward approach.  

The Concept of Unloading  

Unloading will inform my future supervisory decisions. The expectations I might reconsider regarding protecting teachers’ capacity for meaningful instructional work include removing non-teaching mandates, such as extensive committee work and burdensome extracurricular duty schedules. Teachers accept more responsibilities because they feel that if they are asked, it is unwise to say no. As leaders, we should not ask teachers to carry more responsibility than they already have. As a former teacher, I can acknowledge with certainty that teachers are already overloaded. Unloading would be a welcome relief for most educators, and a leader who initiates that process would be met with much gratitude. As stated by Zhu (2026), “Unloading is not neglect. It is an act of professional care.” (Chapter 4). Protecting teachers’ time and energy requires a thoughtful leader.  

As a future administrator, I will ensure that new standards or rules are shared with instructional leaders and passed down to staff without increasing the burden of more paperwork for them. Any clerical or technical tasks will be reassigned to operational staff rather than defaulting to educators. We must resist the urge to increase stress on teachers without enhancing learning for students. Unloading is a deliberate process of stripping teachers of administrative burdens and routine tasks. It is intentional and aims to reduce clutter and free up time and intellectual energy for educators to focus on student learning. As leaders, we should take care of our teachers, so they have the mental clarity and focus to take care of our students. Being a teacher in the classroom has given me the experience to make decisions, help shape teaching conditions, and allow teachers the time and space to succeed in their classrooms.  

References 

Zhu, M. (2026). Maps, Journeys, and What We Choose to Teach: Curriculum Development as  Ethical Design Work (Version 1.0) [Open Educational Resource]. Southeastern  Oklahoma State University. https://open.ocolearnok.org/mapsjourneyscurriculum/