Skip to main content

Following Grandpa

I remember going on family vacations when I was younger with all of my family. It was something I looked forward to each year. I got to spend a week at a beach with my cousins, crazy uncles, and all the other family members that decided to come along for a week of rest and relaxation.

Every year started the same. Everyone had to meet at my grandparents' house and leave together in a big caravan. We were then all forced to follow my grandpa, who was notorious for always driving 5 mph under the speed limit. The trips always went that way, until we stopped for the first break, which was usually for an early lunch. It was then a rush for each family to sit, eat, pay, and get out before my grandparents were done. Why? Because then we could all drive out our own, comfortable, and law-abiding pace. We were not forced to be behind my grandfather's pace. In the end, we all got safely to the beach that same day, but just different times and with much less frustration than the first part of the trip.
One of the biggest things the blended classroom has given my classes has been the ability to let them go at their own, comfortable pace. Students are no longer forced to drive behind me. I no longer feel like my grandpa holding back the caravan (although I doubt he really felt like he was holding the caravan back). Students can go at a pace that is right for them. They can go a bit faster or a bit slower on a lesson or lessons, as long as they get safely to the beach in the end,

In a way, I now feel as if my role is a lot like the AAA of years past, or the OnStar of today. I am there to provide safety, security, and navigation. I can help the students choose the safest and in some cases choose alternative routes that fit their situation, all of which are leading to their final destination. I want my students to feel safe in the travels throughout the year, and I want them to go at a pace that is comfortable to them. I don't want to hold them back, but I want to be there for students that need road-side assistance or that need alternate routes.

Blended learning helped me break free of running my class all year like my grandpa's driving. It has allowed everyone to go at a pace that is right for them, and it has made for a much more enjoyable trip for everyone. However, I will say this for my grandpa's driving, I think he knew exactly what he was doing when he decided to stop for that early lunch. I think he just wanted to make sure everyone started safely before letting them go. Last thing he would have wanted would have been for someone to be in an accident on the way to the beach, but once he saw everyone was okay, he was okay with letting them go. Maybe following Grandpa's example isn't such a bad thing after all.  
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Turns Out Teachers Are Mind Readers (Thanks to Recap)

Imagine if you could hear every single student's thinking, thoughts, and ideas on a topic, and respond to each and every one of them without finding time to schedule individual student conferences. Imagine if your students could let you know how well they understood the topics covered during the week. Imagine how much insight you could get, and how you could adjust your teaching to meet the needs of individual students.   Well, a few weeks ago I came across Recap, a free student video response and reflection app, on my Twitter feed. It allows me to hear every single student's thinking, thoughts, and ideas, allows me to respond to each and every one of them. I checked out the site and immediately put it into action in my class calling the Recap assignments, #flashbackfridays. For 6th graders, not much is cooler than the hashtag.  My 6th grade students instantly took to it. Every one of my students are able to share their insights through a reflective process in a way that...
Post a Comment
Read more

What I Learned from the Elf on the Shelf

There I was at 7:00 AM, bleeding, blood all over my hands, kneeling over our family's beloved Elf on the Shelf, Oliver, in the dining room, and my six-year-old daughter waking up and coming down the steps. It was my worst case scenario. My little girl was going to come downstairs and see me covered in blood with our Elf on the Shelf laying on the floor and think that I did something terrible to Oliver.  Why was I covered in blood and bleeding at 7:00 AM in the dining room with Oliver laying on the floor next me? Because I was trying to make the Elf on the Shelf experience better for my daughters. The night before, I moved Oliver to a spot in our house that was just okay. I knew it was just okay at the time, but I thought it would do. The next morning I woke up, and decided I could do a better job with my placement of our elf. As I was moving him around in the dining room, so he would be hanging upside down like Batman, (much cooler than my first placement), I bumped a glass tha...
Post a Comment
Read more

Road Rules on the Blended Learning Highway

Remember when you were pestering your parents to teach or rather let you drive? You were sure you knew how to drive, as you had had extensive training starting from a very early age. Part of that training included sitting on your parent's lap while they were in the driver's seat and they "let you" drive the car into the garage, sitting on your parent's lap again as they again, "let you" drive the lawn tractor around the yard, then gradually building up to driving the lawn tractor around the yard by yourself, and of course driving the go-karts at the local go-kart track during the summer. With all that training, you were certain you could drive and drive fast. Then when your parents finally gave you the car, you realized the power and potential speed of that car, and that you really didn't know how to drive well, let alone safely.  Learning to drive takes time, and as much as we want to get in that car and go fast, we soon realize we need to hit t...
Post a Comment
Read more