Convincing Students that Their Ideas Count [3:54]

https://players.brightcove.net/2566261579001/HyuWsfFhb_default/index.html?videoId=6265768816001

About

Learn the importance of evaluating your curriculum and how it relates to your students
Learn how to be the person that helps students see themselves in their education
Learn to push past a student's self-doubt and move forward with their research

Transcript

So, now, convincing students that their ideas count. We have told them to sit down, be quiet, and pay attention to what I'm telling you, because what you have to say is not important, from the minute they walk into kindergarten and all the way up through fifth grade, we are making sure that everybody is moving lockstep forward into what the curriculum that we've developed for them and not giving them the opportunity to relate to it. I used to be told all the time. She talks too much. And my mom would be told she talks too much when really I was just like hearing what I was being taught. And then, like, trying to relate it and then I wanted to share it with somebody, right, but no, that, I know it's distracting to teachers, but no, don't do that. But we want them to!

Think about the objectives of curriculum and who wrote it. You know, history is written by the people in control and maybe that doesn't necessarily reflect the child that's sitting in front of you. So maybe that history that they are learning in the textbook is not their history, necessarily. Kids want to know, how does this pertain to me? How am I going to use this? You think the child's being fresh when they ask you that, right? When am I going to use this? I can't learn it, but it's really essential that they know that it does pertain to them. Do they hear their voices? Do they have they when they read something that somebody else has written, does it resonate with them in their hearts? Do they feel like they have had a chance to experience this in some way. And what can we do to be the person who helps them see themselves in their education. Really what it takes is just the time to listen to a student and to see where they're coming from and help them relate.

I know of a student. All right. I'll tell you, he's my son. He had a teacher in a middle school that took him in his class because I begged her to because I knew math was really important in that it was important that he was in her class. And she made every effort to tell the students before she taught them anything how this equation or how this math would apply to them. And math is really tough. And he struggled and that's OK, because you know what, he ended up being an engineering student because she made everything meaningful to him. And now he's an engineer. So do you see what if you just take the time to make it relevant, then what a difference it'll make in the future.

I'm going to quote myself, "I have encountered countless of countless librarians who give up on self selected topics because they cannot overcome their students self-doubt." The kids don't know what they want to learn. They just they can't move forward. They want to use curriculum because that's what they've been taught. They need to explore something that they've already learned in school. No, no, no. And that's what makes genius hour not move forward is that we have to let these kids know that what they want to know is important and totally support that. So do not give up on those kids.

Activities

Objectives of Curriculum

Students often need to find the purpose in what they're learning. How will they use this information? How does it relate to their life? Looking at your current curriculum, how can you help them start to see themselves in their education?

RESOURCES:

Course Packet

REFLECT & PRACTICE:

Using page 7 of the Course Packet found in the Resources above, reflect on 1–2 areas of your curriculum and think about how your students receive that information. Do they hear their voice? Is it their history? When will they use this information in the future? Taking the time to listen to students and understanding where they're coming from, allows you to help them relate to the information and become invested in their education, while also convincing them that their ideas and their words count.

Entry ID: 2267675

Additional Resources

Bibliography.

About the Author

Elizabeth Barrera Rush is a library specialist for a school district in Texas. She received her BBA from St. Mary's University in San Antonio and her MSIS from the University of Texas, Austin. Elizabeth has spent over 20 years serving elementary and middle school students in private, charter, and public school libraries as well as the San Antonio Public Library. She is author of Bringing Genius Hour to Your Library: Implementing a Schoolwide Passion Project Program (Libraries Unlimited, 2018) and The Efficient Library: Ten Simple Changes that Save You Time and Improve Library Service (Libraries Unlimited, 2020). She has written articles for Teacher Librarian and School Library Connection. She has been an advocate for libraries speaking in a congressional panel in Washington, D.C., and a consultant for the National Assessment for Educational Progress in writing, and presented webinars and workshops for AASL, INFOhio, and ABC-CLIO. She is a member of TLA, and an active member of ALA's Core: Leadership, Infrastructure, Futures Division as well as co-vice chair of the Cataloging Norms Interest Group and Member of the ALA/AIA Building Award Committee, and a proud ALA Spectrum Champion for the Office of Diversity, Literacy & Outreach.

Select Citation Style:

MLA Citation

Rush, Elizabeth Barrera. "Student-Selected Research Projects. Convincing Students that Their Ideas Count [3:54]." School Library Connection, ABC-CLIO, August 2021, schoollibraryconnection.com/content/course/2267004?learningModuleId=2267489&topicCenterId=2247903.

Chicago Citation

Rush, Elizabeth Barrera. "Student-Selected Research Projects. Convincing Students that Their Ideas Count [3:54]." School Library Connection video. August 2021. https://schoollibraryconnection.com/content/course/2267004?learningModuleId=2267489&topicCenterId=2247903.

APA Citation

Rush, E. B. (2021, August). Student-selected research projects. Convincing students that their ideas count [3:54] [Video]. School Library Connection. https://schoollibraryconnection.com/content/course/2267004?learningModuleId=2267489&topicCenterId=2247903

https://schoollibraryconnection.com/content/course/2267004?learningModuleId=2267489&topicCenterId=2247903

Entry ID: 2267004