A classroom bustling, noisy, a fluidity only felt if you are immersed in it. The peaks and valleys, crests and troughs, the high ground or trenches blend as students traverse them, with open-minds and an eagerness that is palpable. There is no isolation because even the reluctant, quiet, discouraged students are members of this garrison each a part of the fortification that is the classroom. An environment of cooperation, supporting and rallying the troops when an adversary, struggle or provocation arises. It is never peaceful for long in this outpost. Traveler's appear bringing supplies, reinforcements enter the gates with information and strategies. But leaders remain to plant the seeds of success because the soldiers in this encampment are continually peering at the horizon to anticipate any attack on their security, they are combining forces to guarantee that the settlement will always be standing. This community may be inhabited by those who choose not to fight, but those that do, soon recruit them and together they combat confusion, doubt and defeat. It takes a certain freedom to develop a fortress of this magnitude. Every student has a place in its success. They just need to be reminded of their role, their integral role in the protection and armament of this haven. This is a student-centered classroom.
Often students lean in to failure, accepting the struggle, embracing it. In this classroom they are presented with challenges and battles every day. Students are given a map and they must determine the path and the destination. If given a detailed map they will simply follow the path of least resistance. If given a rudimentary diagram they may not be able to decipher it. But to be presented with a ground plan, an outline of procedures, a simple sketch of an idea, they are able to draw their own depiction of what they believe is their best path, their closest settlement, so they can arrive there safely. Students need to fail. They need to be directed in the wrong direction, forced to topple backwards in order to retrace their steps- to reach start. To see the fork in the road they missed. The "Welcome to the Town" sign that would have eased their minds and see that that help is near by. Topple a word that generally brings to mind plunge, falter, capsize. To me it is more about the stagger, the teeter or totter. Ending in not a cascade or collapse or finality. But a moment of confusion, misdirection that can be corrected and then just like in Monopoly- collect $200 when you pass go. A stumble back to the beginning. The fort then should open its gates and bring you inside the protection of the stronghold.
Students have the stronghold. The power to hunker down inside and reformulate a plan or begin the battle that may be awaiting. In a student-centered classroom the ultimate "white flag" is trust. When students trust one another they let their guard down and begin to work as a troop, a delegation because together they are a bastion of knowledge and creativity. As an observer of such a parapet it is a sight to behold. Yes there are disagreements, frustrations, dissension in the ranks but because they have bonded and formed a company of collaboration they work through them easily. They create areas of remediation or enrichment, they set up areas for creating and designing, they have instituted community goals and visions that they alter and adjust as needed. The ultimate goal of any student-centered classroom is to let the fortification be structured, but to keep the lines of communication open, messengers entering and leaving frequently asking questions, presenting alternatives. A noisy, base of operations needs to exist so that students feel they are in control of the classroom. At least as much as possible. A kingdom, dominion, territory that they guard, they refortify, they ultimately open so that what was once a fortress is now a starting point, a beginning they toppled into. Barricades removed, turrets down, draw-bridge open for visitors and traveler's alike.
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