Today and tomorrow, the kids will take the lead. I will hand them the pen and ask them to capture their learning for the semester. I will ask them to look back over the last several weeks, to look inside their evidence portfolios, to look inside themselves as they seek to capture the essence of their experience. They will speak. And I will listen.

My earnest goal is to give them the last word. It is, after all–as I have often said, as the documents and their experiences reflect–their learning, their stories. But, I will also remind them, that I play a role, and I have to see what they see, and in that, we have to agree. If at first I don’t see, I will then seek to better understand what they do, and we will eventually come to a place where we are satisfied with the end we find.

Of course, in my having done this now for three years, I have found that by and large, I see what the kids see in their first telling, so really there are very few “rewrites.” What’s more, in truth, most “rewrites” are my insisting that kids “upgrade” themselves, for their selected grade is lower than what the evidence suggests. And with that in mind, I will tell them that I hold the veto power to upgrade them when they have come up short. And that’s the only real “power play” I make in the process. In the event of having to “downgrade” (a rare occurrence), I approach the matter far more delicately, seeking to balance the power between us.

Am I doing it right? I don’t know. It may just be that I am doing it differently. But, I can tell ya, it doesn’t feel wrong to make kids a part, to give kids a voice. It feels right. I can’t say that was how I felt when I held the power alone, when I felt like I was doing something to kids, rather than with kids. When I felt like I alone knew the truth of their learning, trusting to the story recorded in my grade book.

In the end, I respect kids. And that respect has grown considerably over the course of my career. And I believe one of the most respectful things I have ever done for my kids, for my learners, is to give them a voice in determining their learning. They know. They know what they have learned. They know. So, I let them speak their truth. I have to, or I haven’t given them a voice at all.

Today’s Trail

Along today’s trail we will experience…

…connecting through Smiles and Frowns.

…writing our learning stories.

…hearing a Sappy Sy Rhyme.

Happy Wednesday, all.

Do. Reflect. Do Better.