At MJDS we focus on meeting every student’s individual needs and challenging them to wonder and engage the world with empathy. We facilitate problem finding, asking thoughtful questions in collaboration with peers, to make sense of the world and try to improve it, one day at a time. This is rigor. It is what we constantly strive to facilitate with every student, every day.
It is easy to misinterpret what rigor should look/feel like for students. The amount of work assigned does not indicate rigor. Memorizing content is not rigor. Think about what challenges you to grow and learn and wonder. Think about this quote by Brian Sztabnik and take a few minutes to read his post https://www.edutopia.org/blog/a-new-definition-of-rigor-brian-sztabnik .”Rigor is the result of work that challenges students’ thinking in new and interesting ways. It occurs when they are encouraged toward a sophisticated understanding of fundamental ideas and are driven by curiosity to discover what they don’t know.”
In my daily observations of student learning, Sztabnik’s definition is alive in technicolor at MJDS. The evidence is in student blogs, it’s in the debates about midrashim in Jewish studies, in how algebraic equations are pulled apart and put back together, in the feedback about each other’s writing, in discovering a love of reading, and on and on.
We are facilitating a sense of wonder that will prepare our students to succeed and lead in the 21st century.
Here is another excellent article reflecting MJDS’ definition of rigor: https://twowritingteachers.org/2017/11/15/learning-opportunities-vs-work-homework-and-the-writing-workshop/
Thank you for framing the learning – and “who owns the learning” – at MJDS! Your leadership and the fantastic team of educators at MJDS are enabling the leaders of tomorrow to dream and achieve through the practice of wonder, empathy and Tikkun Olam. Thank you!
Thank goodness we believe in a school, and a way of learning, that does NOT define Rigor as “amount of homework you get.” I LOVE that our kids are continually CHALLENGED on how they think, and to think in new and complicated ways. Challenge is GREAT. Busy work is NOT.
Yes, yes, and yes. I see the wonder in the questions about the world at the dinner table. In my 2nd grader, I see empathy when she is thinking through everyday social challenges on the ride to and from school. And in my 8th grader, I see a commitment to engagement with the world to contribute to making it a better place. I see teachers who know each of my children well enough to know what they uniquely need to experience a rigorous curriculum.
This is what rigor is all about! This is what a strong and trusting relationship between teachers and students can lead to. Thank you for sharing.
Keep going Aaron. Get them to think and question, and we have our leaders of tomorrow on their way. No need to remember and regurgitate for the sake of showing how much you remember, but what did you really learn about the subject at hand and how would you apply it.
Our staff and students are empowered by comments like this. Our futures are in the great hands of MJDS alum and current students.
I think part of the key to rigor is challenging each student as an individual. Part of a school’s ability to provide a rigorous academic experience lies in the student’s motivation and desire to learn, hence the power in MJDS’s recognition of the need to instill wonder and love of learning. Another part of a school’s ability to provide academic rigor: the teacher’s ability to understand each student and gauge their capacity in different subjects and skills AND then present opportunities (activities, projects, teams, experiences) that take the student to their capacity and just beyond enough so that he or she is motivated to keep pushing their learning. With ideally sized classes and insightful well-trained teachers and resource staff, MJDS can provide these more tailored challenges to students. Beyond this, at MJDS, the rigor arrives in the wide span of skills an individual student may need to learn. Which skills? Well, the answer is a question: what things are hard for that particular student – because those are the ones they will be asked to learn, overcome the challenge, and master at MJDS. Where you are weak, MJDS will support and guide you over and over again until you are strong. From the academic to the critical interpersonal (working effectively with others in a team, advocating your opinion respectfully, coping with frustration peacefully), strategically seized upon opportunities allow each child to push him or herself beyond their own obstacles. That is school-provided rigor – going up against one’s toughest challenges, with facilitation and support of teachers, staff, and even peers (yet another reason why empathy is crucial!).
Rigor — yes, our children absolutely need – and are worthy of – it, so let’s be sure to choose a school that gets it right.
This is so well said. As a parent and school leader, I strive for this every day. When I fail, I learn how to be better next time.