This week at Indi-ED, we have been learning about many values and themes, including leadership, integrity, respect, and more. We have discussed these topics every morning and practiced them throughout each day.
One theme we have been focusing on the most is earning trust. Trust is one of the greatest factors that makes Indi-ED so successful, and it exists among our teachers, students, and parents.
Us trusting (and walking) the new path.
This week alone, the students at Indi-ED have done several activities that relate to earning their teachers’ trust. Activities such as wood-burning (on our own unique journal covers), walking downtown to the park, and working independently.
While making our own inspirational journals, we had the choice to paint or wood-burn designs onto the wooden journal covers. And no, our teachers don’t say, “Here’s some power tools- have at it!” They provide us the necessary guidance, but certainly aren’t overprotective.
They let us work how we work best.
They allow us the opportunity to demonstrate that we can behave maturely and responsibly during these various activities. Our behavior then helps build trust between us. Most schools wouldn’t allow these things to happen the second week of school, most likely because the teachers don’t know the students well enough to trust them.
(Side note: all of the students here must have made a good impression on the first day of school also, because the teachers trusted that we wouldn’t look at the sun without protective glasses during the solar eclipse and one of the cohorts has already started learning from experts.)
Gaining trust doesn’t only apply to activities that could injure us. It also applies to doing work independently, working with partners, and not taking advantage of the choices we are given. The teachers trust us to do our schoolwork and homework whichever way we work best. This really means a lot to us and we feel it helps us succeed even more in school.
(We know what you’re thinking, but he really was demonstrating creativity and earning trust because he was doing exactly what he was supposed to.)
Another important element of trust is simply learning to have trust in ourselves.
It is something we are constantly working on and we’re reading a book that is helping us learn how to even more. Like one of our students, T.W., said, “I’m not going to lie, I didn’t fully trust myself to not burn myself during wood-burning, but knowing how much our teachers trusted us made me feel better about it.”
In order to be successful, we must trust ourselves and be confident in our abilities and knowledge. We had to be confident in our abilities many times already, like during the wood-burning and the pre-assessments we took in math and writing.
While we may be focusing on trust in school, it is a good thing because it will transfer to other situations outside of school. We need to trust ourselves in many different activities and situations, such as sports. For example, while playing basketball, you need to have trust in yourself and be confident in your abilities, as well as your teammates and coaches.
Lastly, it is very important to mention that without the trust our parents have in our teachers, none of us would even be here.
Our parents put a lot of trust into the process of how Indi-ED works. They trusted that the teachers are capable, professional, and respectable. They trusted them with their children’s education and care 7 hours a day, and know they have their best interests in mind. And for that, we are so thankful.