As students walk down the hall with their hands at their side, in a single file line, head behind the head in front of them, hands at their sides and a 0 voice, my mind begins to drift. How many adults walk this way? Are we dehumanizing these students by forcing them to comply? What kind of culture is this creating? My son will be starting kindergarten next year and while I understand it may be challenging to get 20 something kinders from point A to point B, should educators act like drill sergeants with students in the halls? What if my son is so excited about something he just learned and he is overjoyed to share with a friend as he walks down the hall only to be scolded, "Zero voices!" What message does that send? In my opinion, we are saying compliance is valued more than fostering the excitement for learning. Research already shows how student engagement drastically drops as students work their way through this game of school. I would argue that it is time for teachers, myself included, to rethink outdated traditions. Creating a culture of compliance, with the misconception that we are instilling responsibility, is part of the problem and not part of the solution. Where's the joy? Where's the curiosity? Oh, I forgot, in our rigid boundaries, that falls between "raise your hand to talk" and "only talk when I call on you." Why are we such control freaks? Learning is messy! Isn't it time we embrace a culture of curiosity, joy, and creativity over one of compliance? When thinking about the real world and something that many people can relate to as adults, I think of transportation. There are laws in place to keep us safe as adults. Speed limits, stop signs, no texting and driving and so forth. Do you drive the exact speed limit or under it when you drive? Do you make a complete stop at every stop sign? Or are you guilty of the rolling stop? How many times do you speed up to get through a yellow light? Have you ever glanced at your phone while driving? Was it to read a text, see who was calling or even identify the next turn on your GPS?
We have these rules, but my guess is we break some, if not all of them on a daily basis. Police are responsible for making sure we abide by these rules just like teachers are in charge of students following rules. There are consequences for infractions of these traffic rules just like there are consequences for breaking rules at school. Yet we, as adults, continue to break some of these rules on a daily basis. Why? If we are expecting kids to comply with our rigid structures in school then why don't we comply in the real world? Is it because we feel that we stay close enough to the posted speed limit that it isn't a big deal? Or that our car slowed to the point that we felt confident to accelerate again? So why is this okay for adults, but not kids? Maybe a kid feels they are staying close enough to a zero voice in that hall or classroom that they won't bother anyone. Or maybe that their bodies are in control enough for them to navigate the hall without being in a single file line. However, we are quick to remind them how to comply. How would you feel if a cop was after you every time you didn't comply? Again, isn't it time we rethink outdated traditions in schools? We need to bring joy back to learning and foster the curiosity that we unintentionally drive out of students by imposing such rigid limitations. I'm included in this mix of rethinking what's best for our kids. I would love to hear your thoughts on this. If you think I am way off, let me know. Until we address this uncomfortable elephant in the room, meaningful change can't happen.
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Andrew FenstermakerInstructional Technology Coordinator | Innovation Coach | Google Certified Innovator | Presenter | Blogger | Adjunct @UiowaEducation | Owner @kids_f_i_r_s_t |