Go Your Own Pace Sometimes

My 9-year-old son likes to hike the trail behind my house on weekends. But every time he hikes it “all the way to the top,” he does it with his little sister who's 5. so, every time he takes on this challenge he spends a ton of time waiting. And, the teacher geek in me will add, he's never in his zone of proximal development.

This last weekend, thanks to a visit by Sharon Mendelson and Zoe Weitzman , he was finally able to go his own pace. Instead of the 5 hours it typically takes him with the bigger group, it took him 2. He became a better hiker for it, and found a bit more love for the “sport”. (At this point it makes sense to disclose that our backyard hike is 4 miles long and climbs up 2000 vertical feet over giant granite boulders and up waterfalls).?

The world's best teachers build systems in their classes to at least sometimes, let all kids go at their own pace. Who do you teach? And what are the implications of getting this right for your students?

Notes:

(1) I see the other side of this argument, so I say “sometimes” in the title.

(2) This is important for countless other reasons, but I’ve said enough for now.

(3) If you're not a Teacher, you should still have considered this.