Vulnerability and Shift in Routine - Writing About Reading

Vulnerability in the classroom is a broad idea. It’s often tricky, too. vulnerability and trust are not permanent. In fact, just when we think a trusting relationship creates a sense of comfort and security, something happens to disrupt the relationship.

One aspect of my classroom that tends to threaten, disrupt, and even destroy trusting, vulnerable relationships is writing about reading or open-ended responses.

Open-ended responses or writing about reading cause my students some of the greatest anguish and anxiety in the classroom.? Writing about reading has been known to change the dynamics between students and me because of misinterpreted perceptions. It has divided us because what they think is acceptable and worthy, to me is just a start or requires revisions. What’s more complicated is that in an educational world that promotes learning from failure, anything less than perfectionism and correctness is an indictment.

I often find that I open students’ worlds to close reading and supporting answers with text evidence.? It doesn’t take long for me to become a student’s least favorite person.? At best, they like me as their teacher, but they don’t like that I make them close read and respond in writing.

There are several reasons this occurs.

For one, many students come from classrooms where comprehension is determined from worksheet-based comprehension. I’m not saying this is right or wrong because every teacher has different demands, interests, and a finite amount of time to plan. I for one don’t use worksheets because I am a firm believer in explaining thinking. It’s this contrast where students begin to be a bit more reserved, that is less vulnerable when it comes to comprehension.? It’s unfamiliar. And to be vulnerable when things are unfamiliar can often equate to being unsafe.? Students perform with boundaries they establish to create a sense of security and success, that is: what do I know how to do, what do I think I can do, and what will I do to ensure that I am correct? These are basic reassurances when uncertainty abounds. Even if I have set the expectations for written responses, shown them models, and provided rubrics, how students interpret the tasks with the unknown of how I will perceive their work creates instability.

Second, what do you think constitutes a written response? It’s perfectly natural to respond in the only way we know how even if examples are shown. When I first instruct students on constructing written responses, some will write a complete sentence at best. Their perception is that they wrote out their response rather than just answering. They're offended when I tell them that they’re off to a good start.? After all, they have already written more than they are accustomed to.? Isn’t their best job worthy of something?? Well, no. Because my perception, based on the standards, is that evidence is needed. Next, is that they gave some evidence, but it’s more of a reference to the text than a specific example. Again, I hear, “But I did my best.” Only to learn that this time (sometimes for the first time) their best isn’t good enough. Or, some students say, “I answered the question and it’s right, so why doesn’t this work.”? Now we are at a clash in perceptions rather than the concrete expectations that were presented in the model, rubric, etc.? Students become a bit more reserved, and uncertain. They try to protect themselves because what has once served them well no longer works, thus taking on a different sense of vulnerability.

Finally, there’s perfectionism. I have to have the right answer with all the correct evidence, or I am wrong. This is probably the most frustrating aspect of writing about reading and open-ended responses. There are no correct answers.? Even when answers are correct, if they are unsupported, they are just correct responses, not evidenced-based thoughts.? Hence anxiety is born.? When students are accustomed to the right/wrong answer nature of questions, it becomes ingrained.? When students don’t feel success immediately with open-ended responses, anxiety immediately pours in as they feel like they are failures, rather than learning from mistakes or seeing learning as a process. It’s about being right the first time. To this end, I feel horrible for students because standards and expectations intensify. It’s impossible to be perfect. So why not feel comfortable with improving with each opportunity?

But going back to familiarity, if being right or wrong is what’s engrained, sometimes being in my classroom is upsetting because the pedagogy of my classroom is an anomaly, which only exacerbates anxiety.? The bottom line is students become very afraid of being vulnerable when responding to open-ended questions and being a part of a learning process that helps them improve and become more confident over time. So, despite having strong relationships in other capacities of the classroom, vulnerability, and trust from those other capacities doesn’t guarantee smooth sailing in multi-faceted challenging aspects of the classroom like writing about reading.

Despite the research promoting open-ended responses and responding with evidence, question/answer, and right/wrong formats continue to be the institution of schools.? Quite frankly, it’s easier.? Open-ended responses as a practice and pedagogy are also tougher to defend, especially when a student’s self-perception has plummeted as a result of shifting how comprehension is determined.

Where I don’t blame students for withdrawing or being less vulnerable is that students want to impress us.? They want us to think they’re great, perfect, and wonderful at everything they do. And there are times when things happen and negative perceptions take root, when really, it’s more stumbling or being perfectly human, which is to mess up, to be confused, make errors, mistakes, or misunderstand tasks. Learning how to respond to comprehension questions with evidence is a process and perfection is not automatic. Teaching students how to deal with perceived setbacks and to maintain their self-perception, so they can be vulnerable is critical.

How we grow with one another from the experiences, by seeking clarifications, acknowledging misunderstandings, or even the feeling we may have had at the moment, are supposed to help heal wounds, which could invite more vulnerability in due time.? And that is what working with students in terms of writing about reading is all about. It’s not about perfection, it’s about learning and working through the complexities of human interactions, communications, self-expression, and development as humans and writers. It’s about being vulnerable and trusting someone to teach you.