11.1 Flexibility

When and where did I find it: I came across the word flexibility in this week’s reading in the course text, Content-Area Writing (2007). I am sure this word has come up in other parts of the text, but this was in the section about rubrics discussing their strengths and weaknesses, specifically, how to create flexibility in rubrics. 

The authors address the concerns of not being able to acknowledge unanticipated outcomes in students’ writing, and provide an easy, authentic, and immediately applicable approach to building flexibility: add an extra line. 

Full citation: Daniels, H., Zemelman, S. & Steineke, N. (2007). Content-area writing: Every teacher’s guide. Porstmouth, NH: Heinemann. 

What it means: Flexible means to be ready and able to change so as to adapt to different circumstances. Its origin,  from Old French, or from Latin flexibilis, from flectere ‘to bend.’

Level of familiarity: I am familiar with this word. Life requires flexibility! I have to be flexible in my personal life. In my teaching practices, I have designed flexible grouping in the classroom. Raising and working with adolescents requires flexibility.  However, I do not have familiarity of flexibility in association with rubrics. 

Do I want to know this word well and why? Yes, this is an important word to know.  I’ll be honest, I am not an avid fan of rubrics, although I have adapted and created my own for assessing students. My primary reason for not liking rubrics is that I have seen, discussed, and experienced the pitfalls of rubrics and agree with the authors, “The rubric can put you and the student in a straightjacket” (Daniels, Zemelman, Steineke, 2007, p. 263). The authors' easy solution of simply creating a blank line in any rubric remind me that being flexible can be as simple as leaving a line or space for those unexpected outcomes. Adding an extra line in a rubric also sends an important message to our students, that we are being metacognitive of our ourselves when we create assessments. Returning such a rubric with comments acknowledges and validates the individual’s contribution and the teacher’s ongoing appreciation for learning. 

Should others know this word well and if so, who and why? Yes, this is one of those words, essentially, a philosophy, that I believe, learners, teachers, and literacy specialists, should practice. Teaching is a partnership, a collaboration with our students, administrators, and peers, and if we are to collaborate, this requires flexibility, from others’ and of ourselves. Whether building in flexibility in a rubric by creating a simple open line, or providing an extra opportunity for listening, flexibility in our thinking, assessment, and interactions is important.