Falling off the monkey bars

At EdCampOttawa today, the question came up; how does a teacher get to the point where they can let go of a prescriptive classroom approach that relies heavily on teacher-centred lessons? What does it take to allow students to have a bigger stake in driving the lesson? When are you ready to solicit questions from students and follow tangential lines of questioning while trying to stay within the boundaries of the curriculum?  Can a new teacher do that or do you need years of teaching experience to know what is important in the curriculum; to guide discussions and activities and have the confidence that experience brings to deal with issues, problems and questions as they arise?

How did I get to a point where it seems that I am more comfortable with ambiguity and uncertainty in my classroom than many teachers? Nurture or nature? My father was an accomplished engineer and from him, my 3 brothers and I learned not to be afraid of trying things that we didn't know how to do.

 

Today I thought of another training ground.  I was in a classroom just down the hall from the computer labs where I spent a number of years teaching computer science.  At that time I told my students that computer science provided more opportunity for problem solving than any other academic course in secondary school - including Math.  And the beauty was that I didn't have, or pretend to have all the answers.  I could offer approaches for finding bugs but I rarely knew what the problem was.  It is liberating to know that I could never compete with the skills of some of my better students who were spending 4 or 5 hours every night on their computer.  I wasn't the expert (thank god) and I was smart enough to get out of the way of learning. 

The other thought that I had today was how it seems that many of the youth of today are crippled with anxiety.  I have often blamed it on over-protective parents and policies that don't allow kids to fall off the monkey bars anymore.  Kids don't have the opportunity to learn that a broken nose won't kill you. 

I now believe that schools are just as culpable is this crime against children.  We packaged our lessons in bite-sized pieces so students don't choke and we keep safety latches on doors of ideas so students don't pinch their fingers.  We caudle our students with simple tasks so they won't fall and hurt their ego.  We spoon-feed our students in a misguided attempt to ensure their minds are nourished with everything that they will need.  No wonder intellectual engagement amongst students drops steadily  from the primary years to high school.  We are stifling curiosity and play.

We have removed the monkey bars from the playgrounds.  Our classroom must become the new realm of daring and sometimes scary lessons.

If we are afraid, cautious and timid then chances are that our students will be afraid, cautious and timid.

If we are bold, adventurous and risky then our students have a chance to be bold, adventurous and risky.  We want citizens who are comfortable living with ambiguity as they face an ever-changing world with an uncertain future.

Take chances, make mistakes, get messy.   ~Miss Frizzle