Pasenger mode
They direct most of their article to parents. As a former teacher, I thought immediately of today’s teachers. I want to tell them of my persistent pleas for engaged classrooms where teacher and students grapple with ideas, information, facts and non-facts, every day. No matter the class, science, math, social studies, language arts, et al., I believe teachers are responsible to seek engagement. When they do students leave with memories, with provocations, with knowledge, with insights, and if lucky, bring back new thinking the next day.
No matter what’s expected of you in your classroom––and it may feel overwhelming at times––your classroom is yours. Keep disengagement outside the door. No passenger mode allowed. Make your room come alive. Make it engaging. Make it belong to you and to your students. Your students will be forever grateful. They will find agency to bring into the world. You can do no less. You will find great satisfaction, even joy!
