How To Be a Risk-Taker

This is one of the first lessons I teach my kiddos when they start with me in the Fall. I clarify the difference between taking a risk by jumping off a roof on your skateboard (not what we are encouraging) and raising your hand to say something you are not sure is "right" (what we ARE encouraging). We read several stories the first couple of weeks where the characters definitely take risks:

Stephanie wants to be different which mean coming up with a new hairstyle every time her friends copy hers.

Molly is short, has buckteeth and a singing voice like a bullfrog-but it doesn't stop her from taking risks to be herself.

This is my new go-to gift for baby showers. It's all about taking the road less traveled and that being ok.

Monique finds cool clothes in her mom's attic and wears them to school. Much to the teacher's chagrin she really tries to find her own style.

Seems like an odd choice right? She explored the world, lived by the ocean and left her own legacy. Miss Rumphius took risks that definitely paid off for her.

And for the older kiddos:

Imogene is taking a stand to preserve history.

I actually have another post in mind about this book. Zinkoff is a risk-taker and doesn't even know it. He is oblivious of the fact that he doesn't fit in and it really doesn't matter to him for much of the story.

I think I model this for my students myself. We try new things all the time-whether it be a new kind of technology or a new science experiment. I wish more teachers would have the inclination to take risks themselves. I was literally in a meeting the other day where a teacher said "why reinvent the wheel", um because the wheel was invented over 100 years ago!