I recently wrote about “Why Work” (http://www.letschangeeducation.com/working-with-why-project-180-day-136/). I presented an informal, developing plan for engaging kids about their missing work by asking them why. And while I do care about the missing work, I care more about connecting with kids, communicating with kids. And really it’s the latter that has begun to take shape on this second week into the final quarter of the year. We are having conversations.

Yesterday, I had an important conversation with Sally (name changed).

She feels embarrassed, even with a no-stakes, what-I-hoped-was-a-safe-space tASK with our Super Sentence community work. Basically, we do a super sentence each week that begins with a kernel sentence and the kids add to their sentences on a “community” Google Doc. My goal here was for them to see peer models as they constructed sentences together, so they could see and follow what others were doing if they weren’t quite sure how to do the day’s tASK themselves. I thought it was going swimmingly. So, when I asked Sally about her not doing the work yesterday, I was not expecting her response. If anything, I was expecting the normal, “I just forgot, etc.” reason. I would not have guessed what she shared.

I was crushed. I immediately responded, apologizing earnestly. And this began an afternoon-long conversation via Google Classroom “private comments” to set things right and to come up with a plan that was comfortable for her.

Of course, I could not have asked. I could have left it undone as I have so many times before. And as I think back to those so many times where the blank spaces (zeros) filled the air, I am struck by what was really missing. A conversation. A seeking to understand. I assumed too much. And I knew too little.

And I am hoping to change that with “why.” I hoping to kNOw more.

Much more to explore and say here, but I am out of time this morning.

Happy Wednesday, all.

Do. Reflect. Do Better.