Teach what matters - Being a Tempered Radical
Teaching what matters can be interpreted in several ways depending on the perspective. When you google this phrase a number of books, sites, and articles that mostly focus on the core ideas of standards will appear. This is from the teacher perspective. What about what matters to the student? What are the important issues in that student’s community?
When looking at this from the perspective of the tempered radical, it is easy to see how one can begin to transform a learning environment to become more engaging. Doing it is another issue. That is where consistent examples and models become important pieces to helping a learning community, along with the advocacy for why it is important to connect to student experiences as a context for learning and applying important disciplinary concepts.
I think it becomes important to train students to become tempered radicals themselves so that they can begin to have input into the context of the content. We can still focus on core concepts of the NGSS and CCSS but through the context and lens of the student experience. Students who have decision making power over the types of learning experiences they will engage in are more likely to become fully committed to the learning community.
Teachers have an unlimited amount of decision making power over context that is often overlooked. Even in situations where content is defined in very detailed ways, there is always room to add elements that allow student to make important connections. The idea of developing students as tempered radicals can become a transformative experience for a schools. The leadership each teacher can provide is not only through maintaining control over the classroom, but helping students to understand how they can control the outcome of their own lives.
I realize as i write this that it all seems so idealistic, but as I’ve learned in the MSUrbanSTEM - it all begins with a dream.
When looking at this from the perspective of the tempered radical, it is easy to see how one can begin to transform a learning environment to become more engaging. Doing it is another issue. That is where consistent examples and models become important pieces to helping a learning community, along with the advocacy for why it is important to connect to student experiences as a context for learning and applying important disciplinary concepts.
I think it becomes important to train students to become tempered radicals themselves so that they can begin to have input into the context of the content. We can still focus on core concepts of the NGSS and CCSS but through the context and lens of the student experience. Students who have decision making power over the types of learning experiences they will engage in are more likely to become fully committed to the learning community.
Teachers have an unlimited amount of decision making power over context that is often overlooked. Even in situations where content is defined in very detailed ways, there is always room to add elements that allow student to make important connections. The idea of developing students as tempered radicals can become a transformative experience for a schools. The leadership each teacher can provide is not only through maintaining control over the classroom, but helping students to understand how they can control the outcome of their own lives.
I realize as i write this that it all seems so idealistic, but as I’ve learned in the MSUrbanSTEM - it all begins with a dream.
