Something that has been coming up as another component of a teacher's role that feels more catered towards checking off an administrative box than serving students is writing "I Can" statements on the board. Take a quick look at social media teacher groups and you will find the dark humor that comes with coping with the millions of expectations and decisions we face daily.
If I am being honest, "I Can" statements are really to support me along the path of the curriculum to maintain focus in moving forward with students. I use them to determine if students are on track or not. There are also attempts to bring students into the conversation about I can statements. You can find them on every set of notes, every Canvas page, every review. These "I Can" statements come from just taking the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) and adding "I Can" to the beginning, with an occasional break down in the TEKS (i.e. Algebra 2 TEKS 2A.4 says solve quadratic and square root equations, which is typically broken into I can solve quadratic equations and I can solve square root equations). There are also "I Can" statements with English Language Proficiency Standards (ELPS). For example, ELPS c4D could be written as "I can monitor understanding and seek clarification through listening." Let's be realistic, do these mean anything to students? My guess would be no. We do not intentionally bring students into the "I Can" statement creation because they are out of their control. It comes from state curriculum requirements to earn credits for specific subjects. What if instead we had "I Will" statements? All of my students can add, subtract, and multiply polynomials to some degree, but which ones will choose one method over another to demonstrate their understanding? All students can put their phones away but will they choose to do so? I bring this up because there is a distinction between something we can do and something we choose to do and will do accordingly. I can go to the gym every day for at least thirty minutes but will I? I can clean the dishes in the sink but will I? I can stop working during a holiday break but will I... depends on how much I can shut off the balls to the wall mindset I have going on. If we want students to be VOCAL and have ownership of their learning, we need to give them choice in what they will choose to do. We can tell them all we want on what they can do, but it comes down to will they do it and what learning environments are we creating to foster a sense of self-worth to decide they can and they will. More on teacher "I Can" statements for another day... but just something you can think about now, but will you think about it later and take action?
References
Bored Teachers. (2023, September). Instagram. Www.instagram.com. https://www.instagram.com/p/Cw2seuWvgXR/
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My husband lovingly teases me when I reflect on my day with him and say "I learned something new today!" because he would be surprised if I didn't learn something new.
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