And Project 180, Year 6 is underway. As I recently shared in “A New Path,” my posts this year will be weekly instead of daily as I devote my weekday mornings to finishing my book. So, then, on Saturday mornings this year I will publish a “week-in-review” post which focuses on two areas: Better Learning and Better Community, each introduced with a “Better-Builder” question to which I am seeking my own authentic answer.

This week, because it was such a short week and I have a lot to share about learning, I will not share about community (though community and connections are never not near when I am working on learning). And of course, my go-to play with better community always centers itself in Smiles and Frowns, which has already begun working its magic three days in. But this week, let’s talk learning.

Better Learning

How can I more authentically meet each of my kids where and as they are in their own learning journeys?

“Meet” is going to be a key word in the Project 180 work this year. It is where I will find each. As I have said in the past, I don’t have high, low, or medium kids; I have where-they-are kids. And where they are is where I have to meet them.

Above are the My Room Message and the Sappy Sy Rhyme I shared with my kids on Thursday. I compose a new message and rhyme each day (message to begin, rhyme to end) to connect with kids around the big ideas that shape our experience. Here, I wanted to connect with them around the notion of “where’s” place in our work. I want them to know that where they are is the only place we can meet. They are where they are. They are who they are. And that is where I where and how I will meet them

But to meet them, I have to know them–as students, as humans. And to that end, I am trying something new this year with “Cards on the Table.”

From here, kids made their deck of cards using the 3X5 cards I gave them. Nine total for now. We may add new cards later, but this is where we’ll begin.

And we need to begin with a bit of honesty. We, indeed, need to “put our cards on the table” if we are going to authentically meet each other in our work. I am not sure the kids have fully grasped my plan here, and I am not sure they fully trust me enough yet to let me see all their cards, but I am sure that this is an important first step towards their “where.”

Now that the cards are made, this is how they will be played. In an effort to meet kids, I will meet kids (conference with them) regularly, which means I will have a calendar with scheduled times to meet each kid in their learning. I am going to call them “Meet Me” meetings. They will be five minutes in length. And we will meet where they are by having a conversation. And each time we meet, their cards will literally be on the table–really, then, a symbol for our being there in their where.

Of course, I will “meet” kids in their work and in their worlds more frequently than the scheduled conferences, but I have learned better from my past years and mistakes that if I don’t create and stick to a schedule, time and intent get away from me, so the calendar is a commitment to stick to the plan this year (and I will ask the kids to hold me accountable).

I want this to be–to them and me–a sacred time. Our time. Where we meet. Where I find them, so I can support them. And in that sacred frame, we will create an opportunity for authentic accountability, meaning that if I am not meeting them, I am not supporting them. And whether they speak it directly or not, I will imagine their words on the wind, “Meet me, Sy. That’s where I am.”

Next week, I will talk more about the “Commitment Card” in their deck. But for now, if any are curious, I am chasing an idea around the idea of teaching and learning being a shared commitment and using that as our map and measure for making sense of learning at the end (see below).

Happy Saturday, all. So glad you are joining me again this year. See ya next weekend.

Do. Reflect. Do Better.