Inspiring Confidence Empowers Learners to Take Ownership

Lisa Stone

South Campus

TK-5 Principal @ BCS since 2004

----------------------------------------------

As a student, I was not one of those kids who thought that teaching was what I wanted to do. I was going to go into politics and change the world. I worked for a non-profit environmental lobby organization in Los Angeles but realized that I was not going to change the world that way.

So, I decided to go back to school, get my teaching credential, and change the world one class of children at a time.

One of my drivers as an educator has always been to inspire confidence in learners and empower them to take control of their own learning. To give them agency, they first and foremost need to recognize that they can do the work.

Yes, I’m a learner and I can do things!

The program at Bullis Charter School is intentionally designed to inspire confidence in all our learners. They are given a voice, agency, and ownership to craft their own experience here. As a result, they are developing into effective communicators, design thinkers, and innovators.

I don't know all the answers. There are times when I need help.

As educators, we partner with learners and their families here. I encourage parents to help their children gain the courage to take initiative, to be proactive, and to ask their teachers for help and support.  

Really great things can happen when a learner realizes their teacher is ready, willing, and able to help them. Once they discover that support is there and begin to take the initiative to ask for what they need, true ownership of learning begins. Sometimes all it takes is getting over that initial hump and recognizing that it’s okay to ask for help to take the next step forward. A parent might walk a child to the threshold of the classroom to ask for that help, but confidence grows when the child strides through the door on their own to ask for what they need. Each time they take that step, they grow a little braver, a little more capable, and a lot more ready to learn. 

I’m taking a risk. Let’s celebrate!

When we encourage learners to take that step and then celebrate their effort in doing so, confidence builds quickly. Soon, they’re doing it again and again, and we find ourselves celebrating their growing list of accomplishments.

It's our job as educators to set up safe spaces where learners can take risks. We call that scaffolding – providing the supports our learners need to try new things. To truly help kids build their confidence, we need to gradually and strategically remove those scaffolds over time based on the child’s progress.

I’m setting goals for lifelong learning.

So often kids dwell on what they can't do. It’s important to turn that conversation into what they can do. That moves learners from deficit thinking to goal setting. It’s why we’ve implemented the Focused Learning Goals strategy at BCS.

Starting in 3^rd grade, learners identify their academic, personal, and lifelong learning goals. Because they’re making their own choices, they’re taking ownership of their progress towards achieving these goals.

In the fall, caregivers, learners, and their teachers meet together to set these goals in a collaborative process. Learners present their plan, teachers provide insight, and family members offer perspective. Throughout the year, we chart progress, and in the spring, we meet again to celebrate growth. 

“I wanted to let you know that the skills I learned in your class have been

incredibly valuable.”

Jenny Chan, M.A. Economics, Duke University

When our alumni come back and visit, the one thing they say helped them the most in high school and beyond is FLGs. They’ve learned how to set a goal, create steps to reach that goal, and track data along the way to gauge the progress they’re making. 

Every year I hear from former BCS learners who are now in college or well into their careers. They write to share how what they learned here about goal setting, asking for help, and believing in themselves continues to guide them. It’s these moments that remind me why I chose this path. The greatest reward is knowing that the confidence our learners build at BCS stays with them long after they have left our classrooms.

________________________________________________________

How to enroll at Bullis Charter School

Family-founded, free, and public Bullis Charter School serves a richly diverse community of learners. Our TK-8th grade program is intentionally designed to offer a meaningful and challenging educational experience that recognizes each child’s uniqueness. BCS is open to students in California entering Transitional Kindergarten (TK) through 8th grade.

Email our enrollment team at enroll@bullischarterschool.com for more information.