They’ll Be Fine

“What if they don’t do it correctly? I’m going to have to take an entire class period to go over their slides,” a colleague said to me. 

I replied, “They’ll be fine.” 

They replied, “What if they forgot something? I would have completed everything in the directions.” 

To which I replied, “I have a Masters degree. You have a Masters Degree. They’re all 11 and 12 years old. We would make the most creative slides the world has ever seen. We would follow every direction.  They’re learning a process.” 

     I share this conversation because too often we get caught up in the day to day content and compliance of learning. We all want to do better for our students. We all do so much and are called upon to do more. At times it’s the weight of the world pushing down at us and it’s stressful. However, we must remind ourselves about the core of any classroom – the human child. 

     The children who come to our classrooms are all from different walks of life. I’ll never forget when a student questioned my teaching and use of a worksheet. Rather than be offended, I began to reflect. Ultimately, I asked myself this question, “What experiences am I creating for my students?” My classroom ran like a “one size fits all” machine which didn’t place the emphasis on each individual student. 

     We are all unique individuals with unique skills and talents. My job as an educator is to discover students strengths and talents and bring them to life. As a result, I created a classroom based around students and creating, critically thinking, collaborating, and communicating (The 4 C’s). However, while students are creating, I’m walking around giving feedback. I’m talking. I’m joking. I’m teaching students. 

     When I revamped my classroom, I took a major risk and it began with creating lessons where students were creating their own learning. I stopped assigning textbook sections with comprehension questions. Instead, I changed it to students reading a textbook section, finding 5 important facts, discussing and comparing their facts, and then creating a summary of their learning. I will run this framework around fifteen times a year. This repetition allows students to grow and get better throughout the year. 

     My classroom is also a place where students are creating learning artifacts to share with each other. I really wanted students learning from each other. Oftentimes, my students are designing slides to help them learn new information. These slides are unique to them and their own strengths. They are also sharing these slides with their peers and across all my class periods.  Students should not hide behind Chromebook screens. We should be leveraging technology to get students sharing knowledge, and giving feedback, to each other.  

     Since I switched to a student focused classroom, I noticed several changes. Students were happier and more confident. With the design and repetition of lesson frames, students were able to recognize their growth and learning through the year. This made me a happier teacher as well. I no longer am the teacher that states, “This week is moving so slow.” 

     Now I’m back to my conversation from above. The entire focus was on every student having correct slides and following directions. The focus was on content and compliance. My focus is on individual students. How did I help ease my colleague’s mind? I had every student partner up and they gave feedback to each other. They had one minute to tell each other something they liked about their slides. Then students had one minute to tell each other something they would change on their slides. As a result, students helped each other find missing quotes or misinformation. Students did the work. Students did the learning. 

     Why does this work for me? I began trusting my students and helping them understand their unique strengths, talents, and skills. I didn’t sign up for teaching so I could brag about being the first to get through a textbook. I didn’t sign up to talk at students all day. Rather, I chose this profession because I want to help make a difference in the lives of students and create change for everyone.