A Look Back: We Shouldn’t “Empower” Students – Instead We Should Create The Conditions Where They Can Take It

I’m beginning to republish posts that made it onto my A LOOK BACK: 2019’S BEST POSTS FROM THIS BLOG – PART TWO list.

OpenClipart-Vectors / Pixabay

I saw this tweet about a workshop being led by Tricia Ebarvia and Christie Nold:

Wow. An important wake up call and reframing of how we talk and think about student voice. #HSEquity #istelib https://t.co/9sS51LRrKT

— JoyAnn Boudreau (@MrsBoudreau) October 5, 2019

You can see their entire presentation here.

And it prompted me to tweet this:

This is why I don’t like the word “empowerment” – we don’t “give” anyone power. Instead, we can help create the conditions where they take it and support them as they do so https://t.co/gzd61UTqQw

— Larry Ferlazzo (@Larryferlazzo) October 5, 2019

It received a number of responses, including this question:

How does one create those conditions in the classroom?

— Not Designed 2 Blend (@LizaTulip) October 5, 2019

I sent out a couple of quick tweets in response:

A few tiny ways to create conditions for students to “take power” in the classroom:
* Instead of assigning reading strategies to use, having students identify which ones work best 4 them

— Larry Ferlazzo (@Larryferlazzo) October 5, 2019

* When students do presentations, I have everyone in class also grade the presentation. If presenters disagree with my grade for their work, they have the option of using the evidence of the grades they received from their classmates to persuade me

— Larry Ferlazzo (@Larryferlazzo) October 5, 2019

If you look up the definition of “empower” in most dictionaries, it will say something like this:

give (someone) the authority or power to do something.

Again, I don’t believe you can “give” power to anyone, just as you can’t “give” agency to students or motivate them.

However, as I said in the tweet (and which I borrow and modify from Sir Ken Robinson), we can create conditions in which they can grow and flourish.

What are actions you take to create conditions for students to gain and exercise power in your classroom?

You might also be interested in:

The Best Resources On Student Agency & How To Encourage It

The Best Posts & Articles On Building Influence & Creating Change

Best Posts On “Motivating” Students

ADDENDUM: See Guest Post: Ways To Create A Student-Driven Class