The Training Wheels of Freedom

When I first read the title of this Blog, I must admit, I was a bit turned off. The lack of knowledge it implied, or so I thought, was a form of helpless frustration I saw all to often in my students when I, as an administrator I met so succinctly put it, "wore the noble kick me sign of the substitute teacher." I tried to be worthy of that nobility, even as my shins began to bruise, but I just couldn't shake the question, how do we motivate diverse students in a rigidly singular environment?

I feel relieved to be writing this from the present as I am about 7 months into a new job as a distance learning teacher. It, like most things in life, brings a whole new set of questions, and in many ways this school has allowed me to answer my older question with a great deal of flexibility in the curriculum. This flexibility has often led me to ask the titular question, "What the hell do I know?" So this brings me to my next question, how do you scaffold freedom?

As a social studies teacher I certainly think about how to do that in terms of political freedom, but that is not the context I want to talk about here. I want to talk about how to scaffold academic freedom. When I first got to Goddard I nearly had a mental break down. I had always done fairly well in my public school, when I could stomach the busy work, but now I had to actually do something, from my own personality? That was pretty scary, if it was bad, if it was good, it was me. It was a transformative experience when I finally understood it (Thanks, Mike Lugo), and I am thankful I didn't try it right out of high school.

This taught me one very important thing, when faced with freedom, it is scary. Given the option, many of us wouldn't look it in the eye. How then can we learn to create training wheels for students that will allow them to learn the same lessons of self actualization that freedom can bring without scaring them away from academics entirely?

In a public school students spend approximately 3 hours a week in class. Homework is somewhat rare, as some studies state it does not help, and more practically it doesn't get done. My students are spared the 5 - 40 minute classes, and must manage their own weekly learning. I am working on a curriculum that teaches research skills and media production skills with room for students to determine content. One of the main question I want them to ask themselves while they move toward their personal goals is this, what can I do in 3 hours?

Any thoughts? Feel free to leave comments. I hope to blog here occasionally. Tip your server, and try the fish.