Blog 5 - Letting Go

The term Letting Go has been used by Van de Walle and in our classrooms to represent how teachers teach THROUGH problems. Where are you on this at this point? Examing the teaching stations, and your own ideas. Key- When should the mathematics teacher let go and when do you believe it is best to do otherwise?

I think going through the experience of being the teacher in the teaching stations helped me see what it means to let go. I was so tempted to help a couple of my 'students', but remembered to direct them back to their group to talk it through and discuss the issues they were having. I wish I had gotten further along in the 'After' process, but I was able to see other teachers go through that. I think a teacher should always be able to let go. The only time when it Letting Go is not the best option would be when students are having a difficult time with the problem, are getting frustrated, withdrawn, and quit working. It is okay to let students struggle, but when my students simply can't figure it out, you must give hints or help them or they get frustrated and quit. This definitely doesn't help the learning process. Once they quit, it's hard to get them motivated again. So letting go works as long as you're monitoring well and can sense when it is time to try something different.