Standards

The conventional response to an increasingly unfamiliar, de-normalized world is more standards. More uniformity. Rules and regulations help the hierarchy feel like there is still order.

But the world is in utter chaos.

An alternate solution would be to do away with standards for the year and yield to the destabilization. Let teachers be generative and let students learn to be generous. Invent new ways of doing things instead of hanging on to old models.

Call it creative destruction or call it progress. Cab companies tried to sue Uber. Things change, and leaning into the change is the only way to stay alive.

Classroom Rules

There’s going to be four rules in my classroom this year. They are:

  1. Do your best
  2. Tell the Truth
  3. Move Up! and Listen
  4. Don’t compare yourself to other people

These rules are straightforward, except for number 3. Move Up! and Listen means being generous enough to allow others to speak, and then give them the praise they deserve. Moving Up means not always being the one to talk but recognizing others have something to say, too. It doesn’t mean never speaking up, but only when it’s appropriate.

Could these rules be better? Absolutely. Should there be more rules? Probably. But as I see it today, these four guidelines are enough to make a classroom good.

It’s about creating spaces where people feel encouraged to learn. I’ve been doing this my whole life. Now I get to do it from behind a different desk.