Human Connection is the Heart of Learning

When people first hear that Embark is a learner-centered school, they usually have questions. Does that mean that educators develop individual work for each student? Does each student get to design their work schedule? In middle school? What if a student never chooses to learn math? Is that okay?

These questions focus on a learner-centered approach's impact on teaching content - an understandable first line of inquiry. After all, the metrics used to measure educational success are almost exclusively based on content acquisition. Yes, learner-centered education does alter our approach to content. And, yes, we have answers to these questions. In short, not really, mostly, and no, but they do have a voice in the context through which they learn it.

Yet I believe the most crucial dimension of learner-centered education is not content but human connection. At Embark, we hold human relationships at the center of our work. I teach content, but that is not where my interactions with learners begin or end. Instead, I cultivate a holistic learning environment that fosters human connection. The following are some of the ways this mindset manifests itself at Embark.

Understanding Each Other

Authentic connection is not possible without mutual trust.  Historically, schools are where adults hold power and demand students’ respect. If students reject this construct, they may be kicked out of class. At Embark, the inverse is true. While I feel it is my job as an educator to extend implicit trust to all learners, I recognize that learners do not owe me the same. Their trust in me, and each other, should not be freely given. We must purposefully cultivate it over time.

Temperature checks are one way to build trust intentionally, and most “lessons” begin with one. Students use their fingers or voices to share their current state of well-being, where a one indicates a need for immediate assistance and a five represents the best day EVER! All parties present, including educators and visitors, share their numbers and are given a moment to share more information if they wish. 

I always know that we’ve hit our stride as a trusting community when learners add their flair to the process. Inevitably, someone decides that they are at a 4.67 one day, or better still, an 8! Then there are the days when they decided that numbers aren’t expressive enough. Nope, learners have expressed their well-being as everything from “a greenish-yellow banana” to the letter G. One of my favorite innovations was when a 6th-grader sent me this unsolicited temperature via Slack one Tuesday morning.

Finding Joy Together

I also build a trusting relationship with and between learners by discovering joy together. We laugh, dance, play basketball, and share stories about life events. I show them photos of my five-year-old’s latest lego creations, and they share about the weird thing their dog did. All these provide human touchstones outside of the purely academic context.

And the board games! Oh, the board games we play. Embark’s open schedule allows learners and educators to take breaks together, and one of our preferred past times is playing board games. Sushi Go!, Bananagrams, Blokus, Apples to Apples, Chess, Exploding Kittens, and too many more to list. One student got so jazzed about Banagrams that she sent me a photo of her best “board” ever. Another group of students diligently completes all their work early each week to schedule an hour to play Dungeons & Dragons together. The Dungeon Master always requests that I provide feedback on his world-building backstory. This fall, they even invited me to join their quest, going so far as to teach me all about 12 sided-die and make me a full character profile high in intelligence and wisdom but low on strength!

Learning Together

Finally, I do build relationships through content instruction, but not in the way you might think. I approach every learning experience as one in which we are all learning together. Yes, I have more knowledge, skills, and expertise on many topics than middle schoolers. But there is always more for me to learn, both with and from them. Learning is a lifelong process, and I want learners to see me actively modeling this.

This is most evident in learners’ reading requirements. I ask learners to complete two hours of independent reading each week. They are welcome to select any book they wish and must simply read, report their progress, and complete a reading reflection. I hold four optional sessions each week where learners can read separately together. These sessions are popular, with up to 75% of our school attending at a time. I am also present and reading at each session. I might be reading a novel for my book club, the newest popular psychological thriller, trying out a YA novel to recommend to learners, or brushing up on the history of Indigenous people in the United States to prepare for a future lesson. At the end of each session, I screencast myself completing the exact reading reflection they are assigned.

This shared time opens up so many possibilities for learning together. Learners ask each other and me about the books they are reading, and many titles get passed from hand to hand. Learners ask questions about unknown words or concepts to the room at large, pushing all our understanding. And many ask each other for feedback on their reading reflections before submitting them to me. Most of all, it has set a clear culture of reading joy at our school. One student regularly shares favorite poems with me, while others have gotten so distracted animatedly talking about a book they tried to follow me into the bathroom! I once received a calendar invite from a 7th grader titled “New Book Selection” one Monday morning. She had finished reading Starfish by Akemi Dawn Bowman and wanted a recommendation for her next pick.

This all helps create an environment where learners feel seen and trusted as whole humans. They are then more ready to take chances and embrace a growth mindset when something is truly on the line. I have seen these dividends returned when engaging with me and with each other on vulnerable and challenging topics like anti-bias anti-racism work, gender and sexuality education, and even restorative conversations with peers.