Empowering Students In the Classroom
When I think of change that needs to happen in Education, my immediate thought goes toward student autonomy. To be autonomous as a student is to be able to independently manage the freedom one has in the classroom, while maintaining a harmonious relationship with the teacher.
For a student to be autonomous, a student must realize:
- They have a voice
- Their voice matters
- It will be heard
- It will make a difference
When John McDermott and I wrote Clock Watchers and The Just Right Challenge, we wrote about empowering students and captured similar ideas to this posting. Since these ideas aren't new and seem to be shared widely, I wonder why these ideas aren't the norm in classrooms that we watch.