[Granting Autonomy, Part Three]

I’m typically a hands-off kind of person. Maybe that’s why I find such appeal in autonomy and freedom of expression.

However, I’ve learned that not everyone is comfortable with so much space. Some of my students need structure and others need assurance and validation.

This makes it my job to be around for them when they feel uncertain or lost.

I’ve had students constantly asking if what they are doing is correct.

After a few times of me telling them, “there is no wrong answer to this”, and there really isn’t because their activities (at least the ones I design) are open-ended and exploratory, they start to get it and start tentatively trying things out on their own.

It may be tempting to skip the reassurances and do the experiment steps for them, but this doesn’t help anyone to learn, least of all me.

Take that time and spend that energy to be present for your students. It’ll pay off in spades, even if you don’t get to see it immediately.