Learning & Leading With Habits of Mind

Pam’s comments were followed by some silence, so Julie asked if
there were any other thoughts about the process. I felt obliged to defend,
or at least explain, why I tolerate and even encourage the kind of “wasted
time” Pam described. I had talked before about this kind of conference as
a practice, something that might be done regularly as a part of keeping
one’s clinical eye focused and keen.
“You are practicing your ability to wonder about children’s work,” I
said. “It is an exercise in living with the idea that there isn’t one right
answer and [in] entertaining the [multiple] possibilities. I think there is
some value in that even if, in the end, you tell us what the child meant
and we accept that.”
Annette responded by commenting on how the child’s reason for writ-
ing might affect the way the teacher chooses to respond to the ambiguity
or lack of clarity in the writing. The rest of the conversation picked up
and pursued these themes:

Cherylann:But in terms of the process, if Pam had clarified

the question and we’d never had the conversation about what to

say to that child about the ambiguity.... And what I take away

from this conversation is that the next time a child comes to me

with a poem, I may say, “Hey, this is really ambiguous. Did you

mean that? Do you mean it to be this way?” Talking about the

process, if you had clarified it beforehand, we never would have

discussed the issue of ambiguity.

Margaret:I agree. And I think one of the most wonderful

things you can say to a child about their work is, “I thought about

this. And in my thinking I can see all different kinds of mean-

ings.” And that ambiguity is part of the richness. That it can mean

one thing to the person who wrote it and something equally rich

and equally meaningful to someone else. Isn’t that wonderful?

That kind of richness of experience.

Steve:Why do you think that’s wonderful?

Margaret:I think that’s wonderful because it is telling the

person that wrote it that there are more things in heaven and

earth than they can see. Something that they have written has

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