Student Voice Deserves to Be Heard

It has been a goal of mine to move toward a more student centered classroom.  A room where students have more voice and choice.  A room where they feel the freedom to speak their mind and be taken seriously.

Many of the 3rd-5th students that come to me for Reading Intervention a couple of times a week are already at the point in their school career that they act like they don't care, because it is easier than admitting that they don't know, or that they need help.  They feel defeated and they compensate by being a distraction to the teacher and other students so that no one will notice what they consider to be a weakness.  These students need their voices to be heard just as much as the other students that seem to be more successful.

One of the students on my class list this year has already been particularly challenging for our school staff.  I prepared for him by having a personal chat with him before my classes began meeting.  I asked him, "What do you want me to know about you?"  I gave him the opportunity to share about himself and his personal challenges.  He made me aware of how he demonstrates his anger and some of his coping mechanisms.  We agreed on a plan of action if his anger became an issue, and I came away feeling great about the conversation.

What was not addressed was his tendency to talk over others, interrupt, and make negative comments which was evident in the very first class period he attended.  I have several students with those same tendencies and it makes teaching very challenging.  Keeping in mind that I want to give students more voice and choice, I plan on putting the ball in their court.  I will put the problem out there for them to discuss and come up with a solution.  If the solution comes from them, they will have more ownership in the implementation.  I plan on having prepared questions to prime the pump of discussion, like:

How can your voice be heard?
What kind of response is helpful to you?
How can we learn from each other?

Whatever the outcome of the discussion, there are a few things that I want my students to understand this year:

You are important to me.
Your voice deserves to be heard.