I Wish My Students Knew . . .

Before reading this post, can you reflect on this question? 

What do you wish your students knew? 

I'd love for everyone who reads this post to share 3 wishes for their students in the comments below. 

Over the years I've read and explored a variety of educational posts with a wish list of what teachers want students to know. Some of these posts have been very positive and some have mixed in a bit of teacher frustration. Some have gone in some unique directions. I will link to a few that I've saved to Pocket over the years at the end of this post. 

My list is not meant to be complaints about my students. I love all of my students and my goal is for each of them to embrace life-long learning. Please, consider my 3 wishes to be proactive goals and not frustrating failures. Here are my 3 wishes for my students. 

I wish my students remembered what it was like to be curious. I teach high school and too often my students get so focused on what they think they need to know that they forget to ask questions and explore what they want to know. 

I wish my students knew that the best learners are active participants. I've shifted to a student-centered classroom model, but I still have kids ask me to lecture. They just want me to tell them stuff so they can passively engage in the learning experience. They should not be waiting for someone else to tell them what is important, they should be telling me and each other what is important. 

I wish my students knew that the journey is more important than the end result. I believe that the best learning experiences connect almost everything to the 4 Cs of collaboration, communication, critical thinking, and creativity. Content is important, but the process of learning is a skill that we all need to develop. 

I could probably continue to add wishes, but I think three is enough for now. 

Here are a few more posts about what students should know.

• We Are Teachers - What I Wish My Students Knew
• The Guardian - What teachers wish their students knew
• Odyssey - If My Students Only Knew
• The Classroom Key - I wish my students knew . . . 
• The Atlantic - What Kids Should Know be the Time They're Done With School

I'd love for everyone who reads this post to share 3 wishes for their students in the comments below.