On Ramps to Education – “There’s no point in trying.”
I’m sure we’ve all, at one time or another, been so overwhelmed by a task at hand that we didn’t know where to start. Looking at the sheer volume or complexity of work that needed to be done, we become paralyzed with indecision. It’s not that we don’t want to accomplish this task. We are certainly capable of doing every aspect of it. We just don’t know where to start. After our initial period of indecision, we take a step back, reflect on the task, research, maybe reach out to someone we know has expertise in the area, and create an action plan. This is a mature response based on the development of these processing skills over time.
Another certainty is that we’ve all come across students who have consistently not completed or submitted assignments. Take a moment to think about this question. How many students come to school with the hope of doing poorly? My guess is none. Sure, we have students that are disinterested, that might not see the value, but none of them have the goal of not doing well. In this post, I’m not discussing the students who have proven capable and are choosing not to engage. I want to discuss the students that feel their efforts towards success are futile.
Our Words Matter
All students are capable and worthy of success. Sometimes the way we discuss students and student achievement has a negative impact on their view of themselves, which in turn impacts the way they engage with the class. This can happen at the individual, class, or even district level. We make judgments about “those kids” and what they can do before we ever meet them. We talk about kids from failing schools, high level classes, low level classes, special ed students, and the bad kids. The kids are acutely aware of how we talk about them and which category we think they’re in. Whether or not it is our intent, these labels have consequences. If a student thinks they are in the “dumb” class, the concepts are too challenging for them, or they’re not worthy of success, it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.
What is a change we can make tomorrow? Be aware of the words we choose when discussing students. It has a profound impact on how we think about students, which in turn influences the way we engage them. There is no such thing as an honors kid or a special ed kid. We have students that are taking honors courses and students that receive additional supports, sometimes they’re the same kid. With a label comes an expectation or lack thereof, both with their own restrictive impacts. If we truly want to meet students where they are, view them as a person with their own unique strengths. Try to find those strengths and leverage them.
I can’t do this
As I mentioned previously, we’ve all been confronted with challenges that seem insurmountable. For students that have not yet developed the executive functioning skills or compensation techniques to approach the task, engaging with the assignment seems like a fruitless task. They may not see the smaller pieces of the task that would allow them to systematically work through it, and when they reference the rubric, all the criteria seem to be things they feel they can’t do. It’s not that they don’t want to engage. They’re not trying to be disrespectful. They just don’t see a pathway to success.
We need to provide every student an “on ramp” to the assignment. What is something that every student can do regardless of their experience or level of proficiency? They can try. So why aren’t they? If we look at the way we typically construct rubrics and success criteria, it’s not often we see credit for a genuine effort other than a pandering completion grade. In all our learning progressions, we now include a Beginning level, which details what a genuine effort to engage with that skill looks like. For example, the beginning level of Creating Explanations states - I write an explanation or prediction that addresses the reason why I answered the question using information from this unit. That reason can be that they guessed, something looked familiar, any reason whatsoever. It’s just to get them thinking about their thinking and gives us a place to start a conversation.
Without that genuine effort, it is impossible to identify student strengths and guide them to what is an appropriate next step for them. However, if we are not explicitly acknowledging that this effort is challenging for some students and reflecting that in our assessments, it sends the message that there is no value in that effort. It’s this belief that can stop students from submitting anything at all. If there’s no value in what I provide, why should I provide anything? Having a starting point for a conversation that recognizes and values where a student currently is in their development, and providing a realistic path forward, empowers students to tap into their natural strengths.
Final Thoughts
It’s imperative that we create a culture of mutual respect. Students aren’t numbers and should never be made to feel that way. As challenging and frustrating as it may be sometimes, we are the adults in the room with the experience and perspective to see things differently. With few exceptions, it is never the goal of kids to choose to do poorly, to put more work on us, or to disrespect us. These outcomes are usually the result of some underlying challenge. If we can help students identify and address these challenges, we can create a classroom where we are all working towards the common goal of individual growth.
