Lately, I have been noticing that some of my quieter students have been putting themselves out there and making suggestions. When I see this, I almost always choose the answer and I do this with a lot of enthusiasm.The reason I get so excited is because they are expressing trust in what we are doing and I want to let them know that it’s okay to trust our class. I want to make sure that our class is a place where students can offer up details without feeling ridiculed. I am always ready to go to bat for a student that has enough courage to suggest a detail. I feel it is my job to do so. If I don’t, who will?
When these students take a step and trust our class, it really makes the class a lot closer. I have observed that I am not the only one who notices this step. The students notice, too, and accept them into the club of creative people facing the same direction.
