I Will (Probably) Not Meet My Students Halfway
There's a saying that good teachers meet their students halfway. I'm not sure that is true. Don't get me wrong. I think it is critical for teachers to meet their students academically...somewhere. I just don't believe the meeting point needs to be defined with that much specificity. If I have a student who is capable of going 80% of the way toward learning a concept, meeting that student halfway is a disservice to the student. I should only meet them at the 80-20 mark. If I have a student who is only capable of going 25% of the way toward learning that same concept, meeting that student halfway isn't sufficient. I should meet that student at the 25-75 mark. My responsibility to each student is different for the exact same concept. So why should it look the same for each student in my classroom? It shouldn't. Our classrooms are filled with students who come in with varying ability levels, various levels of self-worth, various levels of self-doubt, and