My friend, Julie D. Ramsay from eduflections, recently presented a post titled "It's Time to Let Go." As I wrote my comment to this post, I felt it was important to share with my blog friends. What are your thought?
I often tell my students not to
be “knots on a log.” We discuss the fact
that a knot on a log serves no purpose.
It never grows. It does
nothing. Students should be responsible
for their own learning. I am simply a
facilitator in their learning. Many of
my students have to adjust to this type of learning. I am not discounting their great teachers
from previous years. I just tend to have
a different teaching style. When someone
peeks in the door of my classroom, they will see organized chaos. To them, it is probably disorganization.
However, within the walls of my
classroom, my students are learning.
They are choosing topics to research to use in online creations. They are reading and responding. They are writing. They are managing their own behavior as they
move through activities. They are free
to ask questions and seek the answers. Much
of the day, my students are moving about the classroom, spread out in the
floor, sitting around computers, or working in small groups. The standard rule “Stay in your seat and
raise your hand” just doesn’t work in our classroom.
Why do I choose to let go? Children are expected to make wise
choices. However, we often limit their
choices in the school setting. Students
should be allowed to grow-to become a flowering tree-rather than be a knot on a
log.
~Cara
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