The Rookery

A few days ago, I came across this article about student agency in the New York Times (I think I linked it correctly so that you can read it — it's worth a read, for sure.) A recent Gallop poll found that employers "complain that young hires lack initiative, communication skills, problem-solving abilities and resilience." The article argues that new employees don't have those skills because young people were "too rarely afforded any agency." And it goes further to urge schools and parents, to require students to "identify and pursue some of their own goals, helping them build strategies to reach those goals, assessing their progress and guiding them to course-correct when they fall short."

As often happens when I'm reading, I started reflecting on the Heron classroom. The Herons are in high culminating event season — on Thursday, we decided as a group what we wanted to teach our visitors and how we wanted to teach them. Students chose which group they wanted to join and began to brainstorm the specific information that would be taught. The next day, we reviewed the (very tight) time line and together set up group expectations. There was no way we were going to achieve an engaging, exciting culminating event if we didn't work together and stay on task. Students agreed that they wouldn't wait to be told what to do but would look for what needed to be done.

In their smaller groups they made plans for what they needed to find or create in order to teach the information they wanted to convey. They prioritized the work and set aside (for the time being) the things that would be cool and fun but which were not essential (a.k.a. "sparkle.") It's our hope to get to those things but first things first.

Wow. When I write it out, I see the agency "hidden curriculum" embedded in this work:leadership (setting group expectations, delegating), goal setting (what will we teach and how?), breaking down large tasks, time management (prioritizing). Students have a lot of choice but its within parameters that will lead to a successful whole group outcome. They are part of something bigger — and their participation and contribution is essential. This last point echoes a need that was shared in a book we're reading as an optional staff book club The Anxious Generation by Jonathan Haidt. He argues many things but one is that young people often don't see what they do that adds value to things — they don't see themselves mattering. When culminating event prep is in full swing – everyone's work matters. We depend on everyone.

By the end of the day Friday, the work had moved into the stage I most love – I had become superfluous as a teacher. Instead, I was a glorified go-fer who was sent to find the air dry clay or a piece of felt. Sometimes, a student's initial plan doesn't work. They have to regroup and figure out what to do next. Their classmates are busy doing their own thing but pause and offer suggestions. Sometimes, the student consults with me – but in the end, they have to figure out their next steps on their. Everybody is too busy to take over their work or tell them what to do.

It can be a lot. We certainly don't spend every day in this kind of high gear. I make sure to model how I manage my feelings and occasional worry that we won't get everything done (lots of to do lists and the acknowledgement that I never get to do all the sparkle I want to do). We talk about the difference between eustress and distress. Both are stress – but eustress is a good nervousness that can help us be productive. It's the energy of a performance and results in the really good feeling of achieving something we've had to work hard for.

This particular culminating event has a very tight turn around. We'll have about five hours to bring it together. Is it a little bit nervous making for me as a teacher to not be in control of everything the students are doing? Sure. But if I was controlling everything, they wouldn't be doing nearly as much and the students definitely sense this. This is their event, not mine. That realness of their work, the inherent value that it has, the big responsibility of teaching others with accuracy and competence — these things are at the heart of progressive education. Interestingly, they seem to be at the heart of the new call for student agency as well.