Today my students filled out a questionnaire that was supposed to help determine their strengths. A “strengths assessment”... which made them all panic that it was something graded.
Our district is asking us to do this with the students so that they can see that even if they don’t always feel like they are the best at something, they should know they are good at something else. We want to build them up for the strengths that they have and the first step of that is for us all to know their strengths. Feeling like they have strengths also helps them feel like they belong. They belong and they are good at something. This is supposed to help their emotional health. This is supposed to help stop desperation to fit it. This is supposed to help stop school shootings. All of this heaviness, and the questions were something like, “Would you consider yourself one of the fastest students in your class?” Students sat at their desks, headphones on, answering all of these questions. I’m not sure that they even really understood why they were doing this, but they seemed to think it was pretty fun. Imagine that, 10 year olds like to think about themselves! Another question asked students to pat their head, rub their belly, swing their leg, and tap their toe. It actually wanted them to do it, then describe how difficult it was for them. One at at a time students went through this task. Some were skeptical and looked around the room at their peers while nonchalantly patting their heads. Others exclaimed “I suck at this!” But everyone laughed. Everyone belonged. Regardless of their strengths on this assessment (which I won’t dismiss as lacking value) every classroom should be a place where students feel they belong. My heart breaks for students who silently suffer. The ones who never feel they belong. On the news, after a shooting, people always seem to feel like they “knew” that student was capable of this. If they knew, what did they do? What could they have done? What can we do? How about we start with a strengths assessment.
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I can picture the students looking around, a bit skeptical, during that task. Ultimately they participated and even connected with each other. You captured them in a vulnerable moment and this is when you see the true innocence of the kids. Definitely a moment to hold on to.
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Author5th grade teacher, wife, mama to my 3 magical babies, ally, advocate, doggy foster mom... just stumbling on. Archives
March 2022
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