Published: November 20, 2007

Teaching Secrets: Students Can Do Hard Things

I recently observed a teacher passing out an assignment to a class of high school English students. "This is hard," complained one. "No, it's really not hard, it's easy!" replied the teacher.

Even though I could recall saying the same thing myself on occasion, something about this exchange bothered me. What can our students possibly learn if we only gave them easy tasks? On the other hand, how can we motivate our students to accept a challenge if they doubt their own ability?

I asked Lynn Scott, an experienced teaching colleague, what she thought. Her reply: "If my second graders say something is hard, I say 'That's ok. You...