Been wonderin’ on “why,” again. And, again, as with many of my wonders, it began as a tweet.

Yes, I was playing with words, but I wasn’t playing. It is how I think of learning. It is how I think of learners. And I think about it, a lot. It is my trying to make meaning of my own work, my own learning. I suppose some on Twitter regarded it as a cute platitude (something to get likes). But, I was neither trying to be cute nor trying to get likes. I was trying to “Do Better” out loud, for when I do things out loud (make public my reflections), I find myself compelled to do and share better. And, here, that meant reflecting about the idea of making meaning.

How do we make meaning?

This next tweet followed shortly after.

Why

Of course, I have tried “why” before. During the distance-learning phase of the pandemic, I wondered and worried about the why in our work, about the kids’ finding importance and relevance. So, I gave “Why, Sy?” a shot for some time, which was basically a brief daily video via Screencastify in which I tried to offer an earnest answer to why we were doing what we were doing. You can read more about it here.

And though I thought it was the “better” break I was looking for, it fizzled and faded, and I got nowhere near the 180 days I had planned with “Why, Sy?”

Why? Well, it felt a bit forced and artificial. It was on me alone to supply the why, and more often than not, it just felt like teacher talk. It did not feel authentic, and that won’t do in the 180 classroom. So, consequently, my new-found try with why never really got off the ground. This wasn’t the better I was looking for after all. I would have to keep chasing the next better around the bend. Had to. “Why” wasn’t going anywhere.

“Why do I have to learn this?” Kids (in various ways) have asked this question forever. We certainly asked it when we were on the other side of the room. And we, as certainly, struggled with the answers, often finding little satisfaction and even less meaning in many of the responses we were given. We have a need to know why. It’s how me make sense, how we make meaning. And so, in our work, if we want our learners learning, they have to make meaning. So, then, how do we fill the experience with more meaning? How do we respond to the need to know why? I believe we have to pair “I” with “Why.” As I recently suggested in “Plan Me,” kids have to find themselves in the work to make meaning. So, then, my task, I believe, is to help them find themselves. Thus, my next try with why: “Why do I?”

Why Do I?

As presented in the tweet above, why will begin with “We” and end with “I.” For everything we do in class this year, we will begin with the question, “Why do we need…?” It will look something like this.

Why do we need to connect as a community?

Why do we need to read?

Why do we need to state and support themes?

Why do we need to write in complete sentences?

From there, using the document below, we will consider and capture ideas together as a class. I plan to facilitate this much in the same way as I do our Daily Discussion (Individual>Partner>Class). I anticipate it taking roughly 5 minutes.

“Need,” I think, is key here, for if something’s a need, it’s necessary. This will challenge me to be even more thoughtful about the work I am putting in front of my kids. And more, it will challenge the kids( once we get to the “Why do I need to…?) part of the process, to really consider what their needs are in the context of their own past, present, and future journeys through the human learning experience.

“I don’t need to _____________.” As I stated above, I do expect and will accept “don’t.” But I will also expect at least one more why. Why don’t you need to? Importantly, this is not a control lever. It’s a support step. It’s one more step towards helping my kids find themselves in the work, one more step towards pairing “I” and “Why.”

I am still playing around a bit with the form and ultimately how I will use it, but, for now, this is my plan. The function will remain (I + Why), regardless the form.

I am eager to dive more deeply into “why work” with my kids. I hope it helps them discover “Why” through “I,” which will hopefully help make each experience more meaningful.

That, I believe, is “Why we are doing this.”

Happy Sunday, all. Hope you are well.

Do. Reflect. Do Better.