'Rigor' one of the new Rs

On the first day of school, I visited a classroom in which one of our teachers was sitting in a corner surrounded by students engaged in a thoughtful conversation about what it means to become a community of learners. As the discussion evolved, the teacher encouraged her young students to explain their opinions, listen carefully to details in one another’s answers, and respectfully share their agreements and disagreements.

I smiled, thinking that on the first day of school, these young Whitefish students were well on their way to becoming a rigorous learning community.

For many of us, the term “rigor” does not apply to the gentle scene just described, but instead conjures images of severe-looking teachers heaping on numerous assignments to college-bound students hunched behind stacks of books.

Until recently, rigor seems to have evoked notions of quantity and severity. Only recently has rigor taken on new meaning which more closely aligns with our hopes for 21st Century graduates, destined for successful careers, college, and citizenship.

With the advent of the Common Core Learning Standards educators everywhere are recognizing that academic rigor refers to learning in which students focus on understanding and demonstrate reflective thought, analysis, problem solving, and creativity. As one researcher explains, “It is the quality of thinking, not the quantity, that defines academic rigor, and rigorous learning can occur at any school grade and in any subject.”

Teachers and leaders know that quality thinking cannot develop in a vacuum. When we ask students to understand and apply ideas that are complex, provocative, and challenging, we are insisting students reach beyond their comfort zone to stretch their thinking. To take such “intellectual risks,” students need classrooms that feel safe as well as challenging.

Ron Ritchhart, author of Intellectual Character, describes such classrooms in this way.

“In thoughtful classrooms, a disposition toward thinking is always on display,” he notes. “Teachers show their curiosity and interest…and model their own process of seeking truth and understanding. They demonstrate what it looks like to be strategic in one’s thinking, and model what it means to be reflective. This [sets the tone] and expectation for thought, while fostering students’ inclination toward thinking.”

Thoughtful classrooms cultivate the rigorous standards that will better prepare all students for careers and college. And because inquiry is central to rigorous learning, parents can encourage thoughtfulness at home as well — simply by sprinkling everyday conversations with questions.

When we listen well to our children’s ideas, questions, and suggestions, and then invite them to elaborate by asking questions like, “What makes you say that?” What do you think?” “What would you guess?” we encourage thoughtful conversation.

The next time you hear the term “rigor,” I hope you’ll think of our students tackling learning challenges to prepare them for their future. As we develop our understanding of the Common Core, teachers and leaders will be working together to impart skills to our students that matter most in the 21st Century.

We believe the future of each of our Whitefish students deserves our most heartfelt efforts.

— Kate Orozco is the Whitefish School District superintendent