scaffolding

I’ve been thinking more about how to support my students in succeeding at their academic goals for senior year, particularly with breaking down tasks into more manageable steps. Tackling smaller chunks makes them less likely to give up or get tempted to fall back into old habits (e.g., rage quitting and choosing not to do work out of fear of failure). For example, I’ve helped some students start to tackle their World Studies Extended Essay research in chunks like “find five fast food menus and email them to me so we can discuss the patterns and trends that you see with calories, fat, and sugar.” I think the last thing that one of my students would want to hear is an admonishment for being behind and a  “go start your research and send me what you find” without any help on how to get started.

An impulse purchase at Costco (Seeds of Change Quinoa and Brown Rice) got me thinking about how to apply that principle to my cooking. In my quest to cook healthier food and pack more school lunches, I’ve started cooking more brown rice. Sometimes my intentions to cook brown rice after a long school day often get derailed by tiredness and the temptation to go across the street for a buffalo chicken & blue cheese sub or palak paneer. Though a microwavable packet isn’t as cost-effective or as unprocessed as normally cooked brown rice, I’d rather have the ability to cook the quinoa & brown rice mixture than to make myself wait 45 minutes for the brown rice to cook.