Interviewing My Students
So it's been delightful to have time to just sit with my students and have extended conversation with them about class, their work, and their voice...
I'm realizing, though, that my students underestimate how valuable they are, their voice and their work. in the interviews i felt like i was reminding them of all the great things they accomplished.
so that got me thinking, is it that students arent aware of their achievements or is it that what we are valuing as achievements have become conflated?
the culture of school nowadays is focused on a landscape of tests and so results that come from those measures. when a student is constantly being tested, be it the ISAT, NWEA, other benchmark assessment, what message are they being told? that what is important is to achieve a certain score on these tests. this then translates into the emphasis being placed on the score, the grade.
so when we ask students to be reflective, to share their thinking, to write critically, to speak out their thoughts, how is that "scored"? when a student is able to analyze The Hunger Games to see the resemblance of government control over society between Panem and the United States and is able to compose a poem that powerfully articulates that message using figurative language, does she know how powerful that work is just by the process she has immersed herself in?
i struggle with this as an educator because i feel like i move against the powerful tidal waves of what is happening everywhere else and my fear is what happens when they part this classroom? will these things move beyond the classroom? will they know that their voice is critical, necessary in other contexts?
how do i teach my students this important lesson, that what they experience in class, that they all seem to enjoy and love (as seen in their most recent Unit Reflections), that this idea that their choices are valuable and that they have the capacity to make critical connections on their own without a script, that those attributes are in who they are as learners and that they should continue to exercise that even if they aren't explicitly invited to do so...
and i suppose the other question is whether this is even my role as their teacher. do i impart this onto my students? or do i just continue to expose them to these learning opportunities and allow for them to see how they develop in these areas on their own within the classroom?
i feel like time is running out and that is also always so scary...
I'm realizing, though, that my students underestimate how valuable they are, their voice and their work. in the interviews i felt like i was reminding them of all the great things they accomplished.
so that got me thinking, is it that students arent aware of their achievements or is it that what we are valuing as achievements have become conflated?
the culture of school nowadays is focused on a landscape of tests and so results that come from those measures. when a student is constantly being tested, be it the ISAT, NWEA, other benchmark assessment, what message are they being told? that what is important is to achieve a certain score on these tests. this then translates into the emphasis being placed on the score, the grade.
so when we ask students to be reflective, to share their thinking, to write critically, to speak out their thoughts, how is that "scored"? when a student is able to analyze The Hunger Games to see the resemblance of government control over society between Panem and the United States and is able to compose a poem that powerfully articulates that message using figurative language, does she know how powerful that work is just by the process she has immersed herself in?
i struggle with this as an educator because i feel like i move against the powerful tidal waves of what is happening everywhere else and my fear is what happens when they part this classroom? will these things move beyond the classroom? will they know that their voice is critical, necessary in other contexts?
how do i teach my students this important lesson, that what they experience in class, that they all seem to enjoy and love (as seen in their most recent Unit Reflections), that this idea that their choices are valuable and that they have the capacity to make critical connections on their own without a script, that those attributes are in who they are as learners and that they should continue to exercise that even if they aren't explicitly invited to do so...
and i suppose the other question is whether this is even my role as their teacher. do i impart this onto my students? or do i just continue to expose them to these learning opportunities and allow for them to see how they develop in these areas on their own within the classroom?
i feel like time is running out and that is also always so scary...
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