Many look forward to the holidays, spending time with family, eating way too much and taking the time to recharge. Personally, my favorite thing to do at this time of the year is to eat French Silk Chocolate Pie and not feel guilty while belly-laughing with my family. The two cancel each other out, right? While this is a pleasurable time for most, it can be a tough time for others. As educators, it’s important that we consider multiple perspectives when choosing our “back from the holidays” assignments.
As we know, some students do not have the luxury of eating until they feel sick and belly-laughing with their family. In fact, some students would rather go to school over taking days off to spend in their not-so-safe-place called home. While my son is among the ones counting down days until winter break where he will have 2.5 weeks off, I try to consider those on the opposite end of the spectrum. Relating to this type of student, I understand what it feels like to bust back into your safe place, the classroom, just to be reminded that your life isn’t quite like the rest of your peers.
The Monday after fall break, your teacher announces, “Alright, everyone, please write in your journal what you did over the break. Share how you spent time with your family. I’ll give you until the bell rings and then we will share out some of our stories.”
As the child super stoked about being back in the classroom and feeling a sense of consistency and structure, I wonder how I will pull this assignment off. Will I tell what actually happened over break? Absolutely not. That is NOT the response my teacher desires to be shared out with my classmates. Besides, what might happen to me if I were to write any of that down? So, do I lie? Should I make up a story? How might I fulfill this assignment when it doesn’t fit my world? I want to please my teacher, but I don’t have anything to share that is positive about my time with family. As tears well up, I decide to do what any child in my position would do. Freeze. Yes, I will sit here and fight back the tears pretending to have writer’s block. I’ll take the heat for writing nothing down and share with my teacher that I couldn’t think of what I wanted to say. All the while, I’m hoping she will dismiss me from the assignment and not issue me zero credit. After all, she told me last week I was an excellent writer with exceptional use of imagery.
Are there students like this in your classroom, school, or district? Wouldn’t it be considerate if, as educators, we offer opportunities for these students to share something enjoyable, too?
How might a prompt such as these benefit the student above?
• If you had all the resources in the world, what might you do to help others feel thankful?
• After a week of remembering to be thankful, if you could choose a service project, what would it be and why?
• How might you describe the ideal fall break?
If a teacher must choose a family based assignment, may we consider the question “What does family mean to you?” This inquiry seems to allow the child more direction to explore positive responses. Or, might the child decide their own writing prompt? There’s a thought.
The point is, we ask students to consider multiple perspectives when designing projects, analyzing survey results, or collaborating with their peers; yet, sometimes we forget to return the favor when assigning tasks. Let’s be mindful of ALL of our students and set them ALL up for success. Isn’t that what great educators do?
