Once upon a time, in a land far far away lived a group of L’s on an Island off of the Mainland of Education. They were happy, enjoyed learning, playing with each other, and communicating with their peers. They loved using their language (L-ish) to talk about their experiences, make connections with one another, and build on what they already knew. The L-ish Language is what drove their learning and connection to the world, it was their greatest source of pride and identity. Life seemed just about perfect. 

Their families heard that they would have more opportunities and an even better life if they joined other kids their age in the Mainland of Education. So they L’s and their families packed their belongings and traveled to Mainland, excited to experience this land of opportunity. 

Life in the Mainland of Education was different than island life. The kids were called GEs, and most of their learning was done with curriculum and an educator. The biggest difference from the island life was that they communicated in a language called Teachertalk. The educator would use Teachertalk to lecture the GE’s about the curriculum. The educator often used the "success book" their boss gave them to read Teachertalk from and although many GE’s learned in this method, some also didn’t. 

When the educators questioned to their bosses about the lessons in the "success book," their bosses would say, “Don’t mess with success! This is the way we have always done things.”

So the educators continued using Teachertalk to give curriculum lectures so that the GE’s would get smarter and feel success. 

Educator, curriculum, GE’s will get smarter. Educator, curriculum, GE’s will get smarter. That’s the way it was. 

When the L’s joined the Mainland classrooms they were excited, eager, and hungry to learn about all the different Mainland opportunities. They came to school bright-eyed and filled with positive spirit. They could not wait to meet new kids their age that grew up in this new and strange place.

It turned out the classrooms on the Mainland were no place for L’s. The educators didn’t speak L-ish and only communicated them in Teachertalk about the curriculum. 

The L’s couldn’t talk about their experiences, make connections with peers, or build on their background knowledge, like they were used to. Their spirits began getting flattened by the classroom curriculum.

The L spirit flattenings increased. They began moving to the back of the room and looking for excuses to leave. 

They couldn’t understand  Teachertalk without understanding how the language worked. What could they do with their L-ish knowledge in order to understand how Teachertalk worked? 

“I can see the educator lecturing, that’s where I see things happening,” said the green L. 

“But, there’s something missing from our picture,” the bluest L said. “The biggest part of what we need to learn is invisible to us.” 

Why were they successful and happy on their island, but not in Mainland? They wanted to go back home to the islands where they came from.