Test today. For me. For my approach. For teaching. For learning.

I am going to hand back my first round of feedback on a Learning Check. No points. No letters. Only feedback.

And that will be the test. For the kids will wonder. Is it good? Is it bad? Is it right? Is it wrong? And I will respond. No. No. No. And No.

Well, actually, I will tell them it’s not about good, bad, right, or wrong; it’s just about better. I believe learning is moving beyond the narrow ideas of good, bad, right, and wrong. And it is this that I will seek to instill in my kids as we journey forward together in our learning this year.

But still, they will wonder. Is it good? And why wouldn’t they? That’s been their conditioning for the past ten years. And though I suppose it is human of us to wonder such things, much of our compulsion here has been ingrained from our good-bad, right-wrong experiences in education. Such a shift won’t happen overnight. For some it may not happen at all at this late stage of the game. But with just under three years left in their public ed experience and with now fewer than 163 days left in our year, I will try to get my kids to see beyond good.

Seems simple enough. I give the kids a task with criteria for success. They do. I provide feedback grounded in the criteria. I ask them to respond to the feedback and the interventions I deliver. I reassess. The cycle continues as necessary. Simple.

Well, yes and no. The process is simple. But the people are complex. Yes, the people. The little humans in my charge. They sit on the other side of my feedback where they bring their egos, their emotions, their insecurities…their humanity. And it is this of which I am keenly aware as I write and deliver their feedback. It is a delicate thing, especially here on the fringe where I offer no right, wrong, good, or bad. For some of my kids, it will be liberating. For others, it will be frustrating. And for that I am sorry, and I will tell them so. It is not my goal to frustrate. It is my sole goal to help them find their better. As such, it will take some time for kids to accept my response to their “queries of quality,” which will be. “It can be better.”

So, there is no “good” in room 206? Well, yes, but I am going to call it success. “You succeeded. You met all the success criteria for this, and you are now ready for the next.” And together, we will keep chasing better.

Admittedly, I am a little anxious for today’s “test,” My own ego, emotions, insecurities–humanity–will be in the room as take this first step “beyond good.” Thankfully, I am accompanied by my friends Do, Reflect, and Do Better. They will see me through. They always do. The worst that could happen is that I will learn. I will learn.

Today’s Trail

Along today’s trail we will experience…

…connecting through Smiles and Frowns.

…growing with grammar.

…responding to feedback.

…extending our thinking with Theme using “And, So?”

…reflecting in our Journey Journals.

…hearing a Sappy Sy Rhyme.

Happy Thursday, all.

Do. Reflect. Do Better.