Once upon a classroom, I would have taken points away for such an egregious error. The directions were clear. I wrote them. I spoke them. But she did not read them. And she did not listen to them. There would have been no other conclusion to make. For, if she had read and listened, she would not have been so far off target with her response. And so, I could not have let go such a mistake.

Directions matter. In some instances, they could mean the difference between life and death. If the plane lands in water, one may well need to use her seat cushion as a floating device. And in many instances, they could mean the difference between getting the job or getting into college or not. If the application calls for three letters of recommendation, then one will not succeed with only one. Real situations. Real consequences. And it is such considerations of reality that led me to punish such errors in the past. If I did not, then she would never learn to follow directions. In the real world, there is no room for such errors.

I am in a different classroom now. I no longer take points away when kids make such mistakes, and trust me they do; that has not changed, probably never will. On a recent Performance, I had two young ladies misunderstand the directions. I wrote them clearly. I believe I spoke them clearly, for one-hundred-ten other students followed them, but for some reason these two did not. Instead of summarizing a selected scene, they summarized the entire movie, which then impacted their scene analyses, and so I could not assess their work, and consequently, they will have to redo the Performance. That simple. No need for additional punishment. I am not assessing their ability to follow directions. I am assessing their ability to summarize and analyze a selected scene from a movie.

They made a mistake. It was an understandable mistake that could have been avoided by carefully following directions. They completed the Performance as did all the other kids; they just did it incorrectly. In truth, they did more than their peers, for it takes more time and thought to summarize an entire movie than just a scene. Unfortunately, their additional work was for naught, and they will have to redo, so I can assess them on the specified targets. And I think that’s a reasonable consequence for their mistakes. I do not need to attach an additional punishment for their error. I wrote both a quick note at the top of their performances pointing out their mistakes, telling them they would have to do a retake.

Yes, it will take more time for them and me. Mistakes often exact a cost of time, and in that I think there is a lesson. My time? Well, if mistakes are necessary to learning, then my time will be well spent, for the girls are learning. But what about the inconvenience? What about it? If a kid’s learning necessitates a little inconvenience, then I will endure it. My responses to kids’ mistakes should not be governed by my inconvenience. I cannot talk the talk about valuing mistakes as part of learning, and then complain about or punish the kids because their learning inconveniences me.

She made a mistake. I am glad she did. Hope it’s not her last.

Today’s Trail

Along today’s trail we will…

…well, I am not sure. The kids are registering for next year in my class today. I think it will take all period, so we will see. I just hope we have time for Smiles and Frowns at the end. All the other stuff can wait till tomorrow.

Happy Tuesday, all.

Do. Reflect. Do Better.