This post is going to be an examination of what it means to take a chance. There are all kinds of quotations out there about taking chances. The one starting this post is my personal favorite, but here are some others...
"Risk more than others think is safe. Care more than others think is wise. Dream more than others think is practical. Expect more than others think is possible. "
"Never let the odds keep you from doing what you know in your heart you were meant to do."
"Do one thing every day that scares you."
"We must walk consciously only part way toward our goal and then leap in the dark to our success. "
"Trust your own instinct. Your mistakes might as well be your own, instead of someone else's."
I know that is a lot to take in all at once, but each of these quotes reveal something very important about how our society views the experience of taking a chance. We are told that taking chances means we might potentially feel embarrassed, scared, and hurt. These great men and women explain to us that chance taking requires us to lay aside safety, wisdom, practicality, the impossible, and instead take an instinctive leap of faith.
To a certain extent, they may be right. It is almost impossible to take chances without the presence of the unknown. However, as an educator it concerns me that we are sending the message that taking an unknown path to new experiences has the potential to be painful, scary, and embarrassing. I also do not particularly care for the message that there is no room for analysis, experience, and calculation in taking a chance.
In my classroom, I want my children to see taking chances as an adventure. I want to eliminate fear and embarrassment so that trying new things is comfortable or even exciting. When approaching something new and different, I want them to rely on wisdom and practicality (both their own and that of others) instead of treating them like an impediment on the road to discovery.
Sometimes taking chances will be scary, and sometimes it will require a leap of faith, but I do not think it always has to. My question for all of you is how? How do I create an environment where my students feel safe, comfortable, and even eager taking chances? How do I ensure that trying new things and heading in new directions is a positive experience instead of a scary and overwhelming one? As always, I appreciate anything you have to contribute.
Good questions, Erin. This is and always has been the basis for my classroom management philosophy (from which the teaching comes). This is Maslow as well as Bloom. Some of the structure for an environment like this is simply beyond the teacher's control. We can only do so much to seeing that our students are fed and clothed or that there is correct lighting in the classroom or even heat or cool temperatures. When we only see students for 50-90 minutes a day in secondary school classes, it's even more difficult. We must do everything we can, however. For those of us who have our own classrooms, this means "decorating" to make the room inviting; dressing like a professional (so we can be trusted); providing activities that let students get to know one another (and learn to trust one another); demanding from students and ourselves proper decorum; and communicating verbally, physically (body language), and in writing in ways that make students feel safe with us. As you've probably heard in methods classes, it all starts with the smile at the door. As far as I'm concerned, all of these things take precedence over the lesson plan since there will be no learning until students feel safe in their environment...or otherwise have basic needs met. You have to analyze the environment you're given and then do the best you can to make it that learning place you want to create. Just remember that you can't do it all, just the best you can.
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