You’ve heard of the three R’s of education:  reading, writing, and arithmetic.  There are four R’s we typically focus on daily here at Miller:  relationships, relevance, rigor, and results.  The original three R’s are rolled into all areas (along with a wealth of required state-mandated TEKS, student expectations, and rules).  I’m instantly reminded of a conversation with a student not long ago on this topic:

Me:  So how are things going with you in your class so far this year?  Are you comfortable in your class?
Student:  You know, I have to trust my teacher and she must trust me.  My class works as a team through games and “talk time.”  Our parents help us and we ask them questions on our blog everyday.
Me:  It’s sounds like you are building relationships with each other pretty well.  What about the things your teacher does to relate your work to your life?
Student:  She tells me she creates our lessons to meet our needs.  She makes certain she designs our work to mean something to each of us.
Me:  Is your work hard for you?  What does your teacher do to help you understand?
Student:  I see us repeating some things or adding to them each time we visit them again.  It’s hard work being a student, Mrs. Van!  🙂
Me:  How do you know you’re doing well?  What does your teacher do to show you your success?
Student:  She grades our work, talks about our work with us, shows us good work samples, and really makes us think about our work.  Sometimes, I wish she would just let it be . . .”  🙂

This brief conversation into the learner’s insight, perception, and reality of daily work–the relationship, the relevance, the rigor, and the final results–is a powerful reflection indeed!  Does everyone feel this way . . . no . . . but we can push ourselves to “R4 is the score!”

Note:  We are moving ahead this evening with the fifth annual Field of Readers Event at the Multipurpose Stadium from 6:00 to 7:30 p.m.  We hope to see you there!