Choice Fonts

When I looked at the cover of Johnston’s Choice Words, I’ll admit that I dismissed it a bit just because of the font.  (I’m prone to font-critiquing on occasion.  I feel that it’s an allowable form of snobbery.)  I’m sure that the Curlz font is a product of its time, but I was looking for a book cover with a bit more heft.  So, I was pleasantly surprised when I got a few chapters into the book and realized that really, Johnston is focusing on student agency.  He’s mostly honing in on the words teachers use in order to foster their students’ sense of self and agency in order to guide students to become their most empowered selves within a democratic system.  I’m all in, of course.  The main question that I am left with is how to accomplish this task while being inundated with mandates that tell teachers to remove student agency with preparation for standardized tests.

Johnston points out that some students may be uncomfortable with a sense of agency in the classroom—the students know how school is supposed to be done, and it’s easier to stay in that role of receiver of knowledge rather than constructer of knowledge.  I’ve already seen this some while working on writing a memoir piece with my juniors.  They want really explicit instructions for things to include in their drafts.  While I try to make the strategies that I’m modeling very explicit, I also explain that they might not need to use a specific strategy.  And then the confusion sets in.  “You’re saying that this is required, or it isn’t?”  The interesting part of this question is that I mostly get it from my best students, which makes sense, really—they’ve been the ones who have learned to thrive under a system of rules and regulations.

I was also struck by Johnston’s statement that education is not just about knowledge, but about teaching problem-solving—helping students help themselves.  I think that when we don’t do this, we are essentially creating helpless citizens who can fill in bubbles with an answer that someone else has given them.  But boy, do they fill in those bubbles well.  This method of teaching problem solving seems really difficult, not only because of testing, but also because it takes a lot more planning and patience.  I’m learning that the planning and patience seem all good and well in the summer, but once the mad rush of school starts in August, a lot of that goes out the window (since there’s no room in the classroom for anything else other than the 40 bodies crammed in there).  

So, really, it seems to come back to another part of Johnston’s argument—teaching has to be conscious.  I know that I’m not naturally a person who is constantly encouraging and always on the lookout for opportunities to build student agency; I’m just not wired like that.  But I don’t think that means I’m not naturally a good teacher.  I think it just means that I am the kind of teacher who must be ever reflective in her daily life and activities.