Teachers, in consultation with their school’s principal, should be allowed to use any teaching methods or programs they desire except those that have been expressly disapproved by the school district. No single method should be required to teach any particular subject. For example, the use of phonics or the whole language approach to teaching reading and writing or the use of Open Court teaching programs should not be mandated by a school district, or even school administrators. These options should be left up to the teachers themselves. However, the requirements for what students are expected to know for that grade level would obviously be made known to the teacher who would be charged with making sure that they are met.