Education is a business - the growth business. It cultivates the growth of our learners, translates the growth of new knowledge, and builds professional growth.

As educators, we are only as effective as what we know. If we have no working knowledge of what students studied in previous years, how can we build on their learning? If we have no insight into the curriculum in later grades, how can we prepare learners for future classes?

As a species we are always hungry for new knowledge.

My father taught me that learning is an endless process, and that there is no limit to the amount of knowledge a person can contain. You are never too old to learn something new, or too young to learn too much.

Our civilization has evolved through the continuous adjustment of society to the stimulus of new knowledge.

Mapping does not purport to create an idealistic vision where all teachers agree, love one another, and gather around a campfire and sing 'Curriculum Kumbaya.' What it can develop is a sense of place, of respect, and of new grounds for discussion, disputes, and direction.