Last week I asked my kids for feedback. I asked them how I was doing in relation to my “My Room” standards, if they were feeling connected, empowered, valued, respected, challenged, and supported.

Overwhelmingly, kids reported that they very much felt those things and more. In particular, they felt connected and supported, reporting that they felt like…

 “…we are a family.”

“…everyone cares about everyone else.”

“…we are all on the same team, other people care about my success.”

“…Sy will sit down with us and explain things until I get them.”

“…my learning is what matters, not my grade, and I like that.”

In all, there were many, many positives shared, from feeling no stress to feeling like a human to feeling like they have an ally. But as gratifying as all that is, it is not what sticks with me this morning. In truth, something has been poking me for days now. Three kids said, in different ways, that they did not feel challenged. Hmmm. Dang it.

I’m not okay with that. I have written each of them a response to their feedback, not only earnestly acknowledging and lamenting their situation but also sincerely asking them to help me understand what being challenged means to them. And it is this that I am eager to hear. What does it mean to be challenged? 

In school we often talk of rigor and its role in creating challenging, high-expectation situations for our students. But I have oft thought it misused, even abused, generally taking the form of severity and quantity. As such, I have worked for years to make sure my support matches my expectations, believing if I can’t support it, then I shouldn’t expect it. I wonder if that’s where I went sideways with these three. Am I offering too much support? Do they expect rigor in the form of severity and quantity? How will they articulate it? Today, I will hopefully find out as they get back to me. And then I will do better to meet their needs, to help them feel challenged in an authentic, productive way.

As I was dealing with the “pokiness” of what’s stuck with me these past days, I came across a tweet by one of the educators I follow on Twitter, Connie Hamilton.

 

And it came at a good time as I am sorting through my thinking on what I want challenging to feel like in my room. I had seen similar graphics in the past–maybe this very one, and I have to acknowledge that such things have seeped into my consciousness as I strive to create a space where kids feel challenged in ways that stray from the right in the graphic above. It is from the left that I now draw my strength and conviction to do differently in the 180 classroom, but as I do differently, I have to remember that different looks and feels differently for us all. I wonder if that’s partly responsible for my three kids’ feelings. Maybe it’s different. Regardless, I will do better. I want them to feel challenged. Really, I do.

Today’s Trail

Along today’s trail we will experience…

…connecting through Smiles and Frowns.

…applying methods of elaboration to our writing.

…reflecting in our Journey Journals.

…hearing a Sappy Sy Rhyme.

Happy Wednesday, all.

Do. Reflect. Do Better.