Rigor. The Good Kind

Kindergarteners problem solving
with Kodable.

When students are engaged in a deep-think activity, I notice the faces. Slightly scrunched with squinted, blinking eyes that signal disbelief as in "That doesn't make sense." But it's not a face that shows quit. It's a look that's about to roll up its sleeves and hunker down for serious mano a mano combat. For me, this is what rigor looks like in the classroom.

I see this expression in students of all elementary grades. Even in kindergarten as students absorb complex programming concepts through challenging activities in the Kodable app, they'll stop, stare, gaze in disbelief, but push forward to success, often with a little help from their friends and classmates.

These days rigor is considered a desired learning trait. A trendy question among parents and educators asks what rigor looks like in the classroom. It's initially a strange question to consider since the word is typically defined with words such as strictness, severity, harsh, unyielding, inflexible, and my favorite (not really) -- cruelty.

Perhaps, as parents and educators, we have come to manipulate the definition of rigor into something virtuous as a proactive response. We see a cruel world outside the protective nurturing biodomes of the home and classroom and we want children to be prepared for life's hardships, to have the savvy and Hamburger Hill-type grit to overcome the unexpected and enduring challenges in their lives. Or maybe we just want them to put down their Snapchat videos and mow the lawn. Anyone's lawn.

2nd Graders join forces.

When I see second graders, such as those in Ms. Martin's room, warming up their brains with Kodable programming challenges, coming together to share solutions, trying them each, and learning from their mistakes in Design Thinking manner, and ultimately exalting in a shared success, I'm reminded that the look of rigor does not have a standard definition. Yi Cheng and Julian say it best.

"It's fun. Is it easy? Not really. It's easy then it gets harder harder harder. We like challenges," assures Yi Cheng. "It works your brain," says Julian with the gratified look of someone's who's put in a hard day's work.
This is how you define rigor. The good kind.

Girls Who Engineer Their Future

Girls design 3D models in Tinkercad.

About 20 girls took part in our first lunchtime Coding & Design club of the year. These girls will engage in coding with Scratch and/or Tynker, but we began our lunch sessions in design. In Mr. Fitzpatrick's art studio (STEAM Lab), the girls used Tinkercad, an online 3D modeling program, to create artifacts that represent Edgewood history. Our school just turned 97 years old on January 5 and with our Centennial seemingly just around the corner and with the upcoming launch of the Edgewood History Club, the 3D design work seemed timely. This club is available to both girls and boys, but as the old saying goes...girls first. It's well-known that while girls are drawn towards the creative problem-solving and "making" aspect of the STEM fields, keeping them in these fields as they get older is a challenge. But educators and corporate experts believe it's possible to attract girls for the long haul. We agree. - Paul Tomizawa