I find myself in the uncomfortable position of having to be true to myself in a way that I never have before.
Students of all ages are extremely good at deciphering inauthenticity a mile away and I have to admit that I have always looked to them to see if I was being true to my philosophy of education. If I was having to answer questions about the length of writing or whether this was right or wrong, it triggered a warning bell in my head. “Give them more choice. Give them more voice.”
Now I am the student again. Having proven myself to be a “good” student over the past 19 years of schooling (yes I’m serious), I find myself questioning whether my student behaviors align with my philosophy of education.
Do I want the teacher to teach to the test?
Do I want to just read and respond to 10 comprehension questions?
Do I want to be able to skim rather than really digging deeply into texts?
I realize my answer, sadly, is yes.
I don’t want to be challenged in the same way that I challenge my students. I want the easy, comfortable way out.
So I guess I’m going to go learn how to html code now.
It might be awhile before I post again!