I have gotten some negative feedback from the post of a few days ago regarding our efforts to make engaging lessons. Teachers naturally come back to say that all lessons should be as good as the teacher can manage. I am not disagreeing with that. These are young lives in our care and we owe them best efforts.

Let me see if I can better articulate what I want to say.

I’d like to take a specific wham at that “engagement” piece. Yes, our students should be engaged by our lessons. But if you are convinced that that engagement is your responsibility, Id say you need to take a step back. That engagement should be a shared responsibility.

If Manny does not like your lesson, he needs to suck it up and learn the new material. He needs to take responsibility for his own learning — because no one else can do that learning for him. You can help. You can show Manny how to organize materials. You can remind him to write down assignments. You can provide targeted interventions for problem behaviors, and you should do so. But if Manny keeps leaving his backpack in his locker despite your best efforts, that’s on Manny. If Manny is not listening to the science PowerPoint that you spent five hours creating the night before, that’s on Manny. If Manny is distracting his group during the day’s enrichment activity, that’s on Manny.

Eduhonesty: Teachers should not be forced to take responsibility for behaviors or outcomes they cannot control.