“I don’t know” is a phrase I have heard countless times from students when asking them about something not related to content.
What were you thinking when that happened? “I don’t know”
What do you think will happen now? “I don’t know”
How can I help? “I don’t know”
What I do know though is that students often do know the answers to questions or at least have opinions. Either no one in their life has modeled expressing themselves or they just haven’t practiced the skills necessary to communicate those opinions or feelings effectively and appropriately.
Unfortunately, for some students the times that they have tried, the adults or people on the receiving end have not validated them. Students are left with feeling, “maybe it’s better if I don’t say anything,” or “they wouldn’t understand anyway.”
With the First Five, students get to think independently and formulate their own ideas on simple things and how they want to share those ideas with others. They also get to listen to other people decide how they want to share their opinions and preferences and they learn from that too.
Little by little, we practice expressing ourselves and connecting with each other through conversation.
As a teacher, we are giving students permission to join that conversation and help them build the confidence to change their default response of “I don’t know” to a confident and willing contribution. They learn that they can express ideas, emotions, and opinions not only to be heard, but to be understood and that’s something we all want and need!
-Edtomorrow Team