On Choices
In doing research for this blog post I came across a term that really struck a nerve. I was having trouble articulating why offering choices in school was so important to me. Giving learners a voice and a choice in their own learning was so natural to me I assumed it was equally important to everyone, but this quote forced the reality of what most children face in schools across the country.
… in schools and classrooms across the country, there’s a powerful argument to provide more student choice across every grade level: to shake up inflexible social and academic schedules, reduce one-way learning, and place more responsibility firmly in the hands of students. (Merrill and Gonser)
One-way learning. I stopped reading in the introductory paragraph and ruminated on that term. For me it conjured up images of students in rows being lectured and fed information, but never having the chance to ask questions, be curious, or make choices. As a guide (and a parent) at Chisholm Creek Academy it sounds like the antithesis of everything I want for my children and the studio I am a part of. That term gave me the fuel I needed to straighten out my thoughts and express them.
Children who are not allowed to make choices are missing out on important developmental opportunities. They miss chances for critical thinking. When considering choices children begin to trust their own discernment and decision making process. Most importantly, children who do not make choices learn to solely rely on others- mainly adults- for all the answers. Even in play learners need choices; being allowed some ‘risky play’ helps children experience the comfort zones of their own bodies. It allows them to explore boundaries and feel the weight of risk, which becomes important as they grow- the risks become larger and knowing how to handle them safely is an imperative life skill. Offering choices of what they learn and how they learn it will raise their engagement. Raised self confidence, better articulated thoughts, reduced anxiety, and self satisfaction are all associated with children having choices as well. All of this sounds great in theory, but what does it actually look like in reality?
Many people would argue, “But he is FOUR! He can not make all these decisions! He would eat fruit snacks all day and never bathe.” And they would be right. When I speak to other early childhood educators about our school they are often overwhelmed. The idea of allowing four to seven year olds to have snacks when they feel hungry or go to the bathroom when they need to sounds like a recipe for chaos to them. Our learners having those choices is not novel to the learner, it is just how things are, and they weigh those choices like all others they make during the day. As guides, we are tasked with offering acceptable choices which look different at different ages. In our Primary Studio learners set their own goals from predetermined work options. We encourage them to challenge themselves, but they get to pick what they work on and where in the studio they work on it. Some choose to work in our quiet room because they know they focus better there, others thrive with the collaboration of others and a quiet buzz of conversation around them. They select for themselves and we trust them to do it. Do they always choose what I deem “best?” No, but they learn from that by not getting their work done. The choice, the natural consequences, and the critical thinking it brings are equally, if not more, important than the “work” that did not get done that day. When they do get those goals done, the satisfaction of accomplishing what they set out to do is so much greater than them accomplishing something an adult told them to do. Our learners learn to validate and own their choices, instead of looking to the adult in the room.
According to John Hattie in his book “Visible Learning” 89% of the talking in a traditional classroom is done by the teacher… and 80% of that talking is the teacher giving commands or asking questions with a one to three word answer. I am going to estimate that in our studio it is the exact opposite. The learners are talking through choices. Guides regularly pose Socratic Discussion questions (which are at their core choices) and learners choose and defend their choice. Socratic questions are carefully crafted to be tough. Thinking through and verbalizing their reasons builds confidence in the learner and strengthens their ability to trust their own decision making. In the Elementary Studio choices on how to run the studio, consequences, schedule, and rules all add not just choices, but impactful choices. Learners will immediately see through shallow choices being offered to placate. As they mature and grow the choices offered to them have more weight, but they have been scaffolded with easy choices and consequences up to that point and so built an internal infrastructure so to speak, to handle the heftier choices.
We can not explore choices without discussing these consequences. Younger learners need to have clearly defined, natural consequences for their choices, that they understand ahead of time. These consequences need to be immediate as younger children do not have the capacity to relate long term to cause and effect, they are in the moment. Having no consequences, unpredictable consequences, or consequences that do not fit the gravity of the choice does not help learners draw conclusions from their decision. These consequences help the learners take ownership of their choices because they knew the risks ahead of time. For example in the Primary Studio if they spend all of their time eating, their work will not get done. If they skip snack, their energy level may dip. No one abuses these options because we have always trusted them to choose what is best for them. A learner may ask me if they can eat more than one snack, I ask them questions to help them reason out what the consequences would be of eating all their food before lunch time and then I trust them to make their own choice. Are the consequences of their choices sometimes uncomfortable? Yes, but that remains true for the rest of our lives. If we do not sometimes experience making the wrong choice and those consequences, we do not learn to take those risks seriously. Running on pavement can result in a skinned knee and speeding while driving can result in a car accident. The sooner we learn to weigh choices and trust our decisions, the deeper- and longer term- our reasoning can go. If you want to trust your teenager with peer pressure decisions, helping them learn to make choices starts when they are much younger.
Offering choices to your learner is a life-long process and an investment in their future. Remember to start with small, easy choices if this is new for your family. A person who has never made small choices can not begin to make hard, important decisions. Help your learner by modeling your decision and thought process including what consequences you felt your choices might have, gently encouraging them to explain reasoning and think through potential consequences. Encouraging your learner to challenge themself to make a “hard” choice each day fosters maturity and resilience; this could look like reading an extra chapter, skipping dessert, or doing chores before playing, but remember it needs to be their choice. Finally, remember that taking ownership of their choices is key to this process. If a choice leads to consequences, let those consequences play out. A learner who thinks through choices will begin to articulate why they made their choice, what happened, and how they will choose differently next time. Failure is something that we learn from, as long as we are willing to take ownership for that choice.
Renee Weed
Primary Studio Guide
Hattie, John. Visible Learning: A Synthesis of Over 800 Meta-Analyses Relating to Achievement. Routledge, 2008.
Merrill, Stephen and Gonser, Sarah. “The Importance of Student Choice Across All Grade Levels” Edutopia, September 16, 2021, https://www.edutopia.org/article/importance-student-choice-across-all-grade-levels/
