#RuralEdChat is a chat that focuses on the needs of the rural educator. This chat has been revised by Tammy Neil (@MathNeil), John Martin (@edventures) and Natalee Stotz (@nataleestotz).
Good evening #RuralEdChat! Tonight we'll be digging into student agency. Let's all get started by introducing yourself and where you're joining from tonight!
A1: I try to do reading and writing workshop in my humanities classes and give time & space for student choice in reading and writing. Sometimes struggle with the content demands, though. #RuralEdChat
A1: this one varies for me: with some project, we give students a lot of power to select what they want to make and set at least some of the goals. Often, though, I find I'm doing pretty set assignments. #RuralEdChat
A1: My mind goes straight to school choice... and unfortunately, many rural ed students don't have many options--luckily, online courses and schools (public/private) give them an option #RuralEdChat
The demands of what content we need to cover. This year I'm teaching American Studies, so there are certain pieces of American Lit and certain historical events, eras, and concepts we have to get to. #RuralEdChat
Time constrains definitely make choice & flexibility difficult. This is my big struggle with my AP course - there's no time to do other things! #RuralEdChat
A2: I run a critical skills classroom, where building community is an important part. Students are an important part of building and maintaining the community. #RuralEdChat
A2: mine is all about solving challenges, so it is an environment of questioning, researching and exploring. So I often follow the Ss lead. #ruraledchat
A2: My friend @KatieGrag wrote an article about growing up in a rural school where the students and staff had a family relationship in/outside the classroom - something I didn't experience in school in LA, CA or SLC, UT. https://t.co/EJ9ROvR3HG#RuralEdChat
Are students pretty quickly comfortable questioning things? I know mine tend to take quite a while, would love to have it happen more quickly #RuralEdChat
Speaking from working with students in Rural Texas and Urban Texas in online courses, I would say it is very much organic each year. #RuralEdChat It also helps to have teachers in some rural areas for in-person events.
So is this rural and urban students all coming together in an online course? Must be a great experience for them, and interesting mix for you! #RuralEdChat
Would LOVE to hear @j_shopoff chime in on this. She worked extensively with rural Texas students and was able to build great relationships very quickly with students in online schools #RuralEdChat
Full Value Contract means that each student is fully valued. It's a contract the learning community makes to fully value each other and creating and maintain the learning environment we need to thrive. #RuralEdChat
Would love to see some copies of these, if you have time to share at some point! It's something I'd like to try in my classroom, but I'm not sure enough yet what it ends up looking like #RuralEdChat
A3: relatively easy when there is a goal and design constraints. Choice within a framework. Maglev vehicles, or pop up books.. different form and shape and subject, but different and unique. #RuralEdChat
Q4: I've been blending the two words so far, so lets differentiate. Is "agency" different from simply "having choices"? Is that difference important? #RuralEdChat
A3 Hi! Sorry to be late. I use Google Classroom, Docs, and Forms a lot to keep track of... well, everything. Focus question choices. All writing, and my feedback. Self-reflections. Assessments of me. You name it.
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It's about how the class is going to run and how the most optimal learning environment is going to be established and maintained. So it's going to include your typical classroom management things as well as social emotional relationships. #RuralEdChat
Q4: I've been blending the two words so far, so lets differentiate. Is "agency" different from simply "having choices"? Is that difference important? #RuralEdChat
A4 That's a humongously important distinction. With student choice, teachers define the choices; students simply... choose. Student agency means they not only make but also define the choices. And sometimes the process itself.
#RuralEdChat
For me, the difference is in ownership - I give students choices, but they have agency. Agency is empowerment not only to a choice, but to have a say in what the choice even is. #RuralEdChat
Q4: I've been blending the two words so far, so lets differentiate. Is "agency" different from simply "having choices"? Is that difference important? #RuralEdChat
We have Garden class - which is really popular. One of my kiddos likes to opt out & stay in with me. He does extra math. PE-morning exercise can be the hosted Jazzercise or marching/running/jumping jacks. Not everyone likes dance or coordinated moves. #ruraledchat
And there are times when one might be the better approach over the other. Only, once you've given the kids agency, they... tend to hold on to it quite fiercely. Which, honestly, I mostly like. Especially working at a girls school. :-)
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I've been trying to shift from a teacher-centered class to a student-centered class. My Ss are so use to teacher-centered, that they don't know what to do with choice. For some it's scary. #RuralEdChat
Yes! I've been working on this for as long as I've been at my school- 7 years, making progress. We all still have a lot to learn and a ways to go! #RuralEdChat
Agreed. Honestly, learning to work through conflict and apparently unresolvable problems is a skill they'll need throughout their lives. Though I'll grant I'm still working on it myself.
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If they love winning the game of school, changing the rules is scary, for sure.
I used a combination of making it clear I was hanging in there, and explaining (reasonably briefly) the why behind it, including the notion of research being on my side. :-)
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One thing I keep meaning to work into my conversations with Ss more: "What do you think is fair here?" I get some interesting answers. Brains definitely get churning. #RuralEdChat
That's a good question to ask them. I work with seventh graders. One of the main themes in their lives is fairness. One reason I love the age group.
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re: agency. I used to be the "on call" person to find out why some prof's student who was working hard wasn't doing well. Usually S was former SpecialEd. I'd say self-advocacy was the alternative to SpecialEd status -- and would be for the rest of their lives. #RuralEdChat
A5: I know I'm coming from a dif. viewpoint than many here, but looking at state policy, I wish Ss could help influence policy makers to realize that rural ed needs support just like urban. So much time is spent on inner-city while rural schools don't get support. #RuralEdChat
Self advocacy is a big thing in my school. If we think a given kid needs to work on it, we try to find a way to support her in growing in that skill. Which is delicate to pull off, to say the least.
#RuralEdChat
Different viewpoints are good! Being more tied into the policy side, from your view, why do urban schools get more focus? Where should rural students be speaking that they aren't? #RuralEdChat
And the internet isn't always best for speaking either, if the decision makers aren't listening on it! Now for organizing, that's a different ballgame #RuralEdChat
They get more focus because there are more people in a small place... and usually closer to state capitols. Also, rural ed usually isn't expedient for political capital, so they're "forgotten" easier. Incredibly frustrating! #RuralEdChat
A5 Well, this year, there's an insurgency of sorts to carefully rewrite the dress code to be less objectifying and more in keeping with the mission of our school. That's an effort I support 100%. Or more.
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This is probably a big question, but - is there a pattern in kids that do well, and strategies that worked for them re: learning self-advocacy? #RuralEdChat
A5 I would also love to see our kids be more politically active while they're still with us. Often, once they're in college, they take off, "feministing all over the place" as I often say. Some of them are trying to get something going post-Parkland. Hope it works.
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