Shatter Your View of the Classroom

Classrooms should be crumbling. But many stand firm in an ageless state.

I want to give credit to one of the catalysts for my own educational shift and reflective view of teaching. Changing Educational Paradigms (by Sir Ken Robinson) is media clip that completely changed how I thought of our current educational system. If you haven't seen this before...spend the next 10 minutes re-thinking YOUR educational experience and reflecting on YOUR school memories. If you teach, how can this reshape your view of the classroom? Your school? Your pedagogy? Your approach to students? Your goals?


One of the things that Sir Ken illuminates is the notion that the industrial age-defined classroom has been, largely, left unchanged. Think about how the world has changed in the past 100 years, 50 years, even 10 years. Now think about how many classrooms you could walk into RIGHT NOW and see the following:

• Student desk in rows
• Chalkboard at the front
• Teacher desk in front corner
• Teacher standing at the front
• Filing cabinets filled with worksheets

Are some of these things still practical? Effective? Purposeful? Necessary?

Sure.

But how many of these things are in place because of familiarity? Conformity? Safety? Tradition?

Now think about how many of these things are in place for student learning.

A classroom is for learning NOT teaching.

Students are tasked with the journey of learning and education. Teachers are tasked with how to facilitate this.

The school day is not block of time to be filled with activities to "keep kids busy." It should be an opportunity to forge positive relationships with students so THEIR learning is facilitated in an appropritately paced and meaningful manner.

If the goal of schools is merely to put in time and have the students feel like they remember something that the teacher has "taught them" by the end of the day - we are doing it all wrong. Because if that's the case, why not set up classroom like movie cinemas and bring in the cozy chairs and snacks?

If all we ask of students is to sit passively and learn through sight and sound alone - how different are we than the movies and television shows that we seem to associate with a negative use of time? No one ever suggests that listening to teachers will rot your brain - but depending on the conditions of learning and structure of the classroom environment - I think there's a possible argument there.

Let's shatter our view of the classroom. Let's allow students to put the pieces together. Facilitate the change. Facilitate the learning.

Equity is Everything

Learning is inconsequential without purpose and participation. To create the conditions for learning that invite, involve and invest true meaning for learners: there needs to be a promise of equity.

When considering multiple entry points and planning for engagement – don’t lose sight of your audience. Where they are and what they have experienced should serve as the foundation for your practice. It is only through multiple lenses and by using many perspectives that we can truly comprehend what it means to be excluded – and therefore – take steps to ensure that it doesn’t happen within our classroom walls.

Equity should be the lifeblood of our educational system. It is the framework that contextualizes our theory into practice. By reaching every student, we, as educators, ensure that our approaches are inclusive and our teaching is relevant to everyone.

By using inclusive language, considering alternative points of view and providing opportunities for communities to speak up and have their voices heard – our education system will stay relevant and rewarding for all that it involves.

Without tailoring lessons to reflect the diversity in ethnicity, sexual orientation, and socio-economic status (among other things) that live within our school walls and communities, we are failing to capitalize on the true life experiences and application, to the outside world that our students so dearly need. If we are, indeed, delivering a 21^st century educational experience, it must grow out of the views of diversity in a global world - not the educational traditions that continue to live on out of comfort and ease-of-use.

3 Things to Ensure Equity in Your Practice

1.       Provide a venue for all voices to be heard and considered – A class blog, school website, class newsletter, or parent nights – as many as can be utilized to provide opportunities for input and collaboration with community.

2.       Question yourself – Put your own bias and experiences under the microscope to see where you’re approach to teaching (and learning) is coming from.

3.       Advocate for the silent – Pay attention to the groups that you are not engaging in conversations. Getting to the heart of this could reveal real systemic problems that need to be identified, addressed and improved in your classroom or school community.

      By taking steps to ensure that equity and inclusiveness are alive and well in your own professional practice, you will be making good on the promise (you likely made to yourself) to reach all students and make a difference in the lives of the students you teach.