The Struggle is Real
Teaching a new driver is arguably one of the most terrifying parts of parenting. And there’s no real transition from our kids learning in an online driver’s ed course to the first moments they’re behind the wheel and applying all of that knowledge. We literally have to move ourselves to the passenger seat and give our kids the wheel.
Challenge extended…BIG challenge. We’ve modeled and shared our knowledge. Now they need to apply. We scaffold the climb to the driver’s license and beyond. That’s a big climb and there will be many mistakes…dents and scratches that all help our new drivers to figure out what works and what doesn’t. They learn what to focus on, where they need to put their phone so it’s a tool but not a distraction, and how to operate as part of the driving community. We give advice, set boundaries, ask questions, and provide a steady presence that believes in their ability to succeed.
This is JUST like our classrooms. The problem is that many of our classrooms keep kids in driver’s ed for way too long. They never get to actually drive and apply what they learn in rigorous, challenging ways. And if you never wrestle with content for yourself, if you never dig in to connect ideas and ask questions, you stay at a surface level of understanding and information is quickly forgotten.
We see this when kids forget the exact same content they supposedly learned last year. Except they didn’t actually learn deeply because they didn’t work to build understanding for themselves. They watched and listened, only actively engaging in challenging work some of the time.
Productive struggle is HUGE when we think about using precious learning time efficiently. We need to see that students are owning their learning and working at the edge of their understanding with adults providing gradually less scaffolding.
What does productive struggle look like in a classroom? It means that each individual or small group of students are challenged but not overwhelmed. It means that teachers provide feedback without immediately providing an answer so each student has space and time to think for themselves first. And it means that teachers cultivate a community where all learners celebrate and recognize that learning is a process. Moving from a surface to a deep, application level of understanding takes time and effort…and classroom cultures must normalize this journey.
Our kids eventually become drivers because we literally move over and let them struggle to achieve mastery…that they earned for themselves. And our classrooms have to do the same - create just enough space for kids to do the work, engage in the productive struggle, and build a deep understanding that they can apply from now on. Not only will our kids build solid, enduring understanding but they’ll also become more confident and capable lifelong learners.
