I have been thinking a lot lately about what students need. I walk through school halls and classrooms all day and I see a lot of students’ needs being met and often I see students staring out the window, doodling amazing pictures, or just chatting with friends. Now, I say this to point out that my last sentence was repetitive. If you thought those were two different groups then you are exactly on pace with most teachers in our schools. That kid staring out the window, the one doodling, and the one chatting with their friend – they’re getting their needs met. It is just too often in schools the teacher’s, administrator’s and upper leadership’s “needs” do not match up with what are student’s need. We need to pause, reflect and help students get their needs met while still learning.
School is not easy for every child. In fact, it’s not easy for most of us. That is, getting good grades = school. If we change that and look at school as equal to learning then a lot more of us (teachers) and a lot more students accomplish and achieve success on a daily basis. Our students come into the building and learn but then are told they are failures (verbally or through a written “D-“ or “56%” or “2 out of 4”). This archaic system put together in 1892 by the “Committee of 10” needs to change. At least on the ground in our classrooms and with those students who have stronger needs pulling at them.
We talk about “that student comes from a broken home, give them patience” and we talk about “that kid is hungry, he can’t learn” but we need to refocus on the real needs of actually learning. I, for one, could not care if the students on my caseload (as a resource teacher) got straight As. This is not a reflection of me expecting less from them – it’s actually a reflection of me holding them to the same standards as every other kid. School is NOT easy for every student, but that is okay. I think, we need to accept that it is okay if students are not good at this thing we call school. These grades and expectations to be great at tasks they have no interest in. As an adult – I do not do a lot of Science projects, I do not do a lot of repetitive Math assignments where I get perfect scores, I don’t sit for hours on end listening to someone else be a “Sage on the Stage”. Would being “good” at any of that make students (or us) better employees or better citizens of the World we live in? The answer is “No”, in case you were not sure where I was going with that. See that student with ADHD – really needs to move and that is a HUGE part of who they are. Right now – the biggest thing that student needs to learn is how to build up skills to deal with a world that moves too fast and has too many deadlines for staring out the window or getting distracted.
School is NOT easy for every student - But that's okay.
They need to get “A”s in being good at refocusing when it is really necessary and finding outlets for their energy. Not hating themselves for moving but discovering how to use that energy, movement, and fidgeting for good. They need to build skills of knowing who they are and putting support in their life that work to be a “success”. If they never get high grades – I think that is okay. I was talking to a student yesterday about his progress so far this year. He immediately started making excuses for his grades and missed assignments. I told him there was no need for apologies, he was doing amazing where it counted and 3 late submissions all quarter was actually a huge success for this guy. We then talked about calendar usage, to-do lists, and finding a “perfect fit” system for him to succeed in the business world. A system that works for him – not just the one everyone else finds success with. I never once opened up his grade book to see what his marks were and I only know he had three lates because he told me.
Now, on that note, it’s hard to say “Grades don’t matter” because we all know they do. We are in a system where that is what universities look at, that is what helps move you along in school, it is what helps us know we are doing a great job. I emphasize “we” because it helps teachers as much (if not more) than the students. But, when was the last time you were given a grade for your work as a professional? Maybe you got a review – but nothing was ever final like the grades we assign in school. (Completely different topic for later about how really grades should not be final. IF I learned something in the last month of school that the teacher taught on the first day …would it not be fair to say – my grade in that course is no longer accurate? My 75% reflects what I DID know, not what I know the last day of the school year and yet students cannot ever go back and show they do know that stuff from the beginning of the year…that does not fair to anyone). No, unlike grades, reviews come and go and are always built around a Growth Mindset of evaluating to improve. In schools we give a final grade and move on to a different topic within the subject area…never looking back…never actually helping students master topics or ensure that they learn them. Another rabbit hole I will have to address in another blog post.
So, what DO students need? Students need us to listen. Students need us to ask them questions not just be the ones answering questions. Students need a little bit of flexibility to figure it all out by themselves. My school uses Canvas Learning Management System (LMS) and it is great. It has a calendar and every year in one of the first discussions I have with the Grade 12 seniors I tell them to stop everything they’ve been doing with Canvas and start creating their own system of management. You see, Canvas’ calendar system is like a second brain to these students and they never have to think about due dates or scheduling. Maybe you know a business but I have yet to find one that uses a school and learning based management system to help their employees organize due dates, meeting times, customer files, etcetera. So I challenge the Grade 12s to figure something out that will work next year before the rug is pulled out from underneath them and they have to create a new system – but do not have a grace period or margin of error – because they’ll get fired if they miss too many meetings or forget to prep that big presentation.
Students need us to let them learn right now how to thrive not just survive. They need us to work their needs for power, fun, belonging, and freedom into how we run our classes. So many educators are doing this great and the plethora of possibilities is endless. But what WE, the educators, need – is to start with the students and making every decision start with the question, “What is BEST for the students?” They are the reason we come to work every day and why we have employment.
You see – what students need more than anything – is for us to stop what we are doing and just listen to what they each need to find success. They need us to step off the stage and stand next to them – guiding, supporting, and spending our time making sure they are building skills to make each day more successful than the last one. We may not be able to get rid of grades today but we can get rid of some anxiety, we can make things fun, we can hand out grace, and we can make sure students know – we’re all learning together, making mistakes together, and growing together.
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