We Try Harder

      As I begin to plan lessons for the upcoming year, I wonder how I will incorporate blogging into my lessons.  Starting with writing assignments seems to be the place to start, but I suppose I could use it across different subject areas as well.  But I also realized that I need to start small and build momentum.  I know from experience that new ideas are great, but too many at one time can lead to disaster.  If I truly want to give my students a global voice, I must be careful and try not to control my students’ progress.  Doing for them is often easier than having them figure things out for themselves.  Of course, that would negate the very thing I am trying to give my students; their own voice.    My family is very involved in the Boy Scouts of America program and I have to admit I have learned a lot from how this program is run.  The focus of this youth program is in creating strong leaders.  In order to produce great leaders, you must let them lead.  It does not mean that you let them do whatever they want, but rather guide them and provide the opportunities where they can learn for themselves.  Prominent in the scouting vernacular is the EDGE method of leadership:  explain, demonstrate, guide, and enable.  The most important part of this I believe is being able to guide without doing.   Not giving up control, but rather guiding the student onto success.

     It is also important for me to keep in mind that not everything is going to be a success.  I need to keep trying anyway.  The other day I was shopping in a little eclectic, vintage collectors shop.  On display for sale was a little pin that I remember from when I was young, the early 1970s.  The pin was a small white circle with the words: “We try harder.”  I remember getting one of these buttons in school as a reward for doing well on an assignment.  It was a reminder that even if we don’t succeed at first, if we try harder, we will be a success.  The act of trying harder was rewarded.  I know that not everything I try will be a success, but we will just have to try harder.  I need to remember to celebrate each step as I sail through uncharted waters.  Even the missteps will help to guide the way.  We will succeed because we will try harder!

 

KH