Something to note. Not something to be. But I worry that the data become labels to be believed, and when they are, they come to be.

I am a good student. I am an average student. I am a bad student.

Good. Average. Bad.

I wonder how long these last, I wonder how they seep and settle into consciousness. I wonder how they impact other aspects of our kids’ lives–now, later…forever.

But we have to know. We have to label learning. We have to sort and rank.

Do we?

And if we label the learning, does that then label the learner? And if a learner is labeled, then how does that impact her learning, her life? We see the impacts, I think. The lack of confidence. The abundance of anxiety, even–especially–among our “good” students, who come to worry not about the learning but the grading. And among our “bad,” we see something even more unsettling. The lost hope. The helplessness. The apathy. And our “averages” are lost somewhere in between.

But as I pause, and I ponder such a list. I wonder what we’ve done. How could such things come from learning? How could kids find themselves in such places? Surely we never intended such things. I didn’t become a teacher to lead kids to such places. I don’t think any of us did. I think we became teachers to help kids learn. So how, then, did we get here?

I suppose that is long, sordid story. And while we may some day sort out the details, we have kids in our rooms who need us to change the story now.

So how do we do it? I don’t know the answer. But I do know that we have somehow lost our way. And I believe it can be found. And I think it begins with a simple step forward towards better. Yes, better, my go-to word. But here, too, I think there is application.

Let’s begin better by throwing out labels. Good, average, bad–gone. And let’s continue with the simplest of stories. Teacher. Student. Better.

Better is where we meet. Good, bad, average can always be better. Anything can always be better. My job, I am learning, is not to give learning–or learners–names; my job is to note the learning, know the learner, and simply support better.

Too simple? Maybe. But who said it needs to be complex? Did we really intend to end up here where we are? And if so, did we expect to be as unsettled as we are? I grew tired of being unsettled and unsure; I grew weary from and wary of the story, so I decided to change it. No, it didn’t happen over night. And yes, it’s still happening, for better isn’t an end, it’s simply a means to unlearn the good, the average, the bad, a means to learn the better in all.

Happy Friday, all. Have a great weekend.

Do. Reflect. Do Better.