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Fear: I
am afraid I won't be able to predict what's going to happen in the classroom if I were to relinquish control as Spencer suggests.  Although, I'm equally afraid that when I do "projects" they are seen / experienced more like crafts as Spencer also admits.
Success:  When students take ownership - even on an individual basis, I see the glow in their face that they have accomplished something, and they are proud of their work.
Self-Assessment: I need to analyze the choices I make for my students that I need to let them make for themselves.  I fully understand that I set the pace and the direction and the students are along for the ride.
Goals: Selecting one component of my classroom to offer up for student choice.  I love the idea of having students select their "tools" or scaffolding resources.  My husband is a gym teacher and for each unit he uploads several videos for his students to watch the skills/ rules/ etc.  I would love to incorporate materials for students to have access to through Google Classroom for them to select the resource they need to help them complete the task.  This process may be time consuming, but again instead of me doing all the work, using the students to find those "How to" videos might be a better suggestion.  They need to learn to be consumers of their own education and knowing how long of a video they're willing to watch, how in depth the content of the video becomes, etc, might influence them.  Also, encouraging them to make their own "How to" videos if they can't find one they like.

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I am afraid of trying new things in a data driven district.  I have it pounded in my head that if I do not have students succeed at a certain level that I won't have a job very long.  This makes me very hesitant to try different techniques and tactics in the classroom in my tested subjects.  I am going to be rolling out something I have never tried which is utilizing hyperdocs for the first time.  I have no idea if it will be good or crash and burn, but it is something I want to at least try in my non tested classes.  I don't think I am bold enough to try it in my tested subject classes yet.  I want to give it a try in classes where the stakes are not as high and if it shows promise there then try it in one of those settings.  However, after reading the article I read tonight it is making me consider trying to be more bold with my biology classes that are not doing as well. If I am being honest I don't think they are going to do very well on the state test. So if that is the case then what do I have to lose?

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Last year during a parent conference I was accosted by a mother who was upset at the level of work I was giving an honors physics class. She was upset that the students had to design their own procedure for an experiment. She raved on about how this wasn’t Walnut Hills and the students shouldn’t be expected to do something like that. It is my fear that my students won’t be prepared. Many of my students in my honors class were interested in careers in science. My goal for them was to prepare them for a college physics class. They will be competing with kids that go to Walnut Hills, and other schools in the area. Some of the students were clearly only in honors because they were compliant students. My goal was to change that. Having recently taken a basic level physics course in college I knew how challenging it could be. I’m afraid every year that my expectations will become misunderstood to students, parents and possibly other teachers or administrators. This year my honors physics roster is 6 students. In the past I have had between 21-40 kids. I fear that my high expectations and student inquiry has caused less students to take the course because they have heard about how rigorous the class can be at times.

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I am afraid to fail.  I know that failure happens to all of us from time to time, but those are usually passing moments.  A bad lesson is over, you reflect, make adjustments, and move on.  One lesson failing is very different than an entire system of instruction failing -- that scares me! It's a "comfort zone" thing, too -- I know what's happening if I'm driving the instruction. I like the idea of providing student choice, but where do we fit it in when we are driven by test scores, curriculmn maps, evaluations, etc?
With the arrival of Plato, the students are going to have a little more choice and control over their learning, but it's not quite what Spencer has in mind.

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I am afraid of failure. I know in my heart that providing students with a choice will empower them,  but its hard to shake that fear. I'm so used to being in my comfort zone and don't often stray from it. I have to remember to encourage my students to try new things instead of demanding it. I want my students to recognize their potential and pursue their interests.
I think I can start small by providing an independent reading project where students can choose how they want to present it.

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One of my fears is trying something new, loving it and then being restricted again because I went rogue. I always see that my students are bored at school, daily. They find the curriculum boring and they have no desire to read on their own. This hurts them with accountability and the love for learning. What is holding me back are the expectations that are out there for teachers to follow the maps like they are intended to be followed. The more we work on curriculum mapping the more I see that they want teachers teaching the same thing at the same time across the district. I don't want to be watched closely, being known as the one that is not being compliant. So my challenge is to try to follow the map but also be creative enough for my students to empower them to want to learn. I know that my students are capable and I want them to love reading and everything that comes with it, I need to break out.

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I'm going to put it out there: I'm afraid of failure. I'm afraid of doing something that makes me look less than competent as a teacher, because I though I love constructive criticism, I would hate feeling like I failed my students. I don't mind falling flat on my face in a lesson, but I don't want that to happen in front of someone else, like other teachers  or administrators, because I don't want to be the one that teachers whisper about in the lunchroom, or the ones that students talk about in their other classes that are "bad teachers."

To combat my fear of failure, I have worked with our instructional coach on building my repertoire of instructional strategies and have really pushed myself to try new things in the classroom. I have also worked to communicate my failures, to other teachers and staff, both so that I can take the accountability for myself (it helps me feel better) and to ask for help, which is something that I LOVE to get.

I want my classroom to shape students and to push them to have more accountability. But I am restricting myself and my students with my fears. It's something to think about and reflect on, and something I'll be working to combat for years to come.

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In Chapter 5, John allowed his students to pick their own target. He said the class still had a daily target, but the students would pick their own for the day!! WOW!!!!! I work in a district that really pushes FIP, so everyday I am writing my targets on the dry erase board and the students copy them daily.  EVERY DAY. I never once thought to allow students to pick their target! Great idea! I may have to do this with the cardio unit I have coming up. Start off with a project that they choose, allow them to make their targets, and support them so they can acccomplish their goal/target. This was very eye opening to me, and I can't wait to try it out!! 

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In Chapter 5, John allowed his students to pick their own target. He said the class still had a daily target, but the students would pick their own for the day!! WOW!!!!! I work in a district that really pushes FIP, so everyday I am writing my targets on the dry erase board and the students copy them daily.  EVERY DAY. I never once thought to allow students to pick their target! Great idea! I may have to do this with the cardio unit I have coming up. Start off with a project that they choose, allow them to make their targets, and support them so they can acccomplish their goal/target. This was very eye opening to me, and I can't wait to try it out!! 

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One way I would like to better prepare my students is not through the content but through accountability. So many times, I have students with missing work only because they didn't turn it in or they didn't put their name on their paper. I want to teach the students that whether you are preparing for a job, college, military, or even undecided. There are responsibilities as an adult. I think I can teach the students accountability by engraving the turn-in procedure more. I think I also need to increase my expectations of my Honors students. Perhaps I am afraid that, because Chemistry is new to them, I should be cautious of what I give them. I don't want to overwhelm them and I know that I am fresh out of college, meaning the level of Chemistry I've been learning for the past 4 years is incredibly high. I'm trying to learn to not "dumb down the material" and yet still keep the content at a grade appropriate level.