I have a confession…

I have a confession, I hate being told what to read. I primarily think it’s because I’m incredibly stubborn, but also when I read something it is for relaxing! I’m ready to finally admit that in high school there was a lot of skimming assigned books. Yes, I will fully admit I watched the Grapes of Wrath movie instead of reading the book among many other shortcuts throughout my academic career. So when I found out that we were going to be having a book for my master’s classes this summer I was afraid of old habits dying hard. I know this is hypocritical coming from a teacher who believes in growth mindsets. Begrudgingly when we were assigned to read chapter one of A Beautiful Question  I sat down in my room and started reading. 

Then something amazing happened, I started loving this book. Not only am I reading this book, but I’m actually taking notes within it! One of the points that Warren Berger makes is that asking questions means being vulnerable. It means admitting you don’t understand something. For kids this means admitting you don’t know something in front of the entire class. This can be even more threatening for my students in my classes age group. Leaving elementary school, about to enter middle school the social pressures are real. Then on top of that the girls in my class are quiet by nature. It’s no wonder that having students asking questions is like pulling teeth! 

I want to be the reason why students are excited about their learning, not being a reason why they shut down. One of the most frustrating stereotypes I’ve encountered is that “girls aren’t good in math. (Berger, 2014 pg. 58)” Not only isn’t true but because of hearing it, I believed it. I had been told that I needed to work harder in math because I was a girl and it didn’t come naturally to me. Then I was scared to ask questions about math because it would make me look more dumb in math than I already felt. By the time I got to high school I had accepted I wasn’t good in math but it was ok because I was a girl. Looking back now I want to shake my former self

I can finally admit that I have successfully read at least one of the required books I’ve been assigned in my educational career. Which of course led me to ask myself, why did it take me so long? The only reasonable answer I could accept from myself was that I saw the purpose in this book. A side effect, I’ve learned, from this book is that with every answer comes a new question. How can we make reading purposeful to all students?

References

Berger, W. (2014). A More Beautiful Question. Bloomsbury Publishing.