What if we were all this brave?

It seems as though my students are finally finding their groove. They get what it means to be scored based on criteria, though they are still figuring out what the assessment descriptors look like in practice; they realize that low scores now won't necessarily mean low scores later,though some are still having me field questions from their parents; and they are enjoying the fact that their homework is not graded. 

And yet, I still hear...

"What if it sounds stupid?" 
"What if I do it wrong?" 
"What if I don't finish?" 
"What if I get a bad grade?"

In my head, I passionately respond, "Who cares?" But I recognize that they might misconstrue those words. What I want to say is, "This is your learning. Don't let other people tell you whether your learning sounds smart, correct, finished, or up-to-par. This is your education. Claim it!"

But then I remember that they are 14, 15, 16, maybe 17 years old and I am asking a lot. Was I brave enough, at 14, to turn in an assignment that was only half way done? Was I brave enough to show rough drafts of writing to my classmates? Was I brave enough to not let other people's judgments of my work affect my learning? Half the time I'm not brave enough now! Here I sit, writing this blog, wondering what my own colleagues will think of it, questioning whether I'm writing something worth sharing with you, our readers.

So instead of saying, "Who cares?" I found myself saying to one young lady on Monday, "Be brave." She sat for twenty minutes in front of her computer screen as three classmates (not her friends) typed feverishly into a shared google doc about the distinctive characteristics of an exceptional short story. Every 5 minutes or so, I walked by and just said, "Be brave." And when, finally, she started typing, she realized what she'd been missing.

Because it's scary to take risks in your learning when you think the answer might be wrong. It's terrifying to put your ideas out there for others when you think your writing doesn't sound as sophisticated as that of your peers. But it feels so good when you realize you're not alone in your learning. This Empowered Learning thing forces students to take ownership of their learning but gives them the freedom to learn and grow from others. It's electric. 

I'll end with a few thoughts from my students this week in response to a quick (anonymous) reflection activity about collaboration when the practice and homework isn't graded:

I like this system a lot because I don’t have to feel alone when I don’t know an answer or like I don’t have anyone who can help me. You can really talk and “bounce” ideas off of each other. The answers in this system are supposed to be thoughtful, thorough and well written and your peers can really help with that. This way, I just have to try my best and then the outcome is just me learning what I need to do better. I feel that I’m able to almost take more risks in class and experiment with different ideas and explanations that I would have never done if I knew that it may impact my grade in a negative way.

 What if we were all this brave?