The Driver's Seat

This is cross-posted from my school blog. It was also sent out as a monthly print newsletter for families. I thought you might enjoy reading it here too. -Matt

With a year under my belt and feeling more comfortable each day in my position as principal here, I am starting to find more time to engage in fun activities. One thing I enjoy is producing digital media of my family’s life captured on camera. Right now I am putting together images and video in order to create a multimedia presentation of our two kids’ experiences in Wisconsin Rapids, our former home.

In one series of videos, we documented our daughter learning to ride her bike. I held the camera while my wife jogged alongside her, holding the bike to provide that extra support while our daughter attempted to find her balance. My wife was giving constant feedback, telling her to “pedal faster” or “straighten out the handlebars” when appropriate. Eventually, as every kid does, our daughter was able to ride her bike independently.

Throughout this process, our daughter was the one pedaling and steering. We didn’t do a lot of modeling of how to ride or explain this skill in words. Our daughter got on a bike with training wheels at first, then removed them when we all felt she was ready. She was in the driver’s seat at all times.

This personal story relates to the professional practice we are striving for in classrooms. Instead of the teacher doing the majority of the work, we are shifting the reading, the writing, and the thinking to the student. Just like riding a bike, students cannot learn something new unless they are actively involved in the process. The driver’s seat in school is a pencil or a book in one’s hands.

This might seem obvious. Yet education has been traditionally delivered with the teacher expected to do the heavy lifting. We know now that our role as educators in today’s world is to be that guide on the side, supporting our students as they attempt time and again to improve in their abilities and become successful learners for life.