"Just Right Fit"
Today was the first day of Third Grade for me and my students. What a great discussion we had today about being a learner, our talents and things we would like to work on. After the usual rules, procedures, Code of Conduct and general learning about how school works; I had a little circle time with my amazing class. We all took of our left shoe. We talked about how that shoe fit us, was easy to walk and run in, or fit our fashion needs.
I wore my favorite pink wedge sandles pictured above today. LOVE these shoes for so many reasons - but most of all because they fit! I handed my shoe to an adorable brown-eyed boy in my class. I told him to give it a try. I asked him "How do they fit? Will they work for you?" This very articulate boy told me they fit. "However, they aren't very comfortable. They are too high and don't work well with socks."
This pattern continued. We passed shoes and tried them on. Some were too tight and they pinched our toes. Some were too big. Some were a little big, but would work if we could get some help as we grew into them. And, others fit but just weren't the right style. As the discussion and shoe trading came to a close we discovered that it was PERFECT that we were all different!
Just like our shoes are different, we know we are different learners. I promised my students today that I will find the right learning fit for them, support them when they are growing into a new size and help them move into a new size when things seem too small or tight.
My children were able to tell me and each other that they know they need different things as learners - and that was music to my ears. I promised that as their teacher, that it was my job to find the "Just Right Fit" that would support and challenge them as learners.
The kids get it! They understand that "Fairness is not everyone getting the same thing, but everyone getting what they need." (Tomlinson)
Here's to a year of "Everyone getting what they need" to be successful!