How full is your bucket?

One of the things I’ve discovered over the years is that the educational culture of our students differs as greatly as the languages that they speak. However, when stepping into the classroom, we have the same expectations of our students regardless of background. This week, the topic of “how can you get the most out of your classroom experience?" came up, specifically in a critique-based class.

One way to approach this idea is by looking at the contents of a bucket… full of homework, questions, experiments, ideas, inspiration, etcetera. Depending on a student’s background, they may be accustomed to coming to class with either an empty or a full bucket. However, in a classroom on the 5th floor, where they start has a big impact on where they might end up.

A student might come to class with an empty bucket expecting an instructor and classmates to fill it through critique and classroom instruction. However, this is the wrong way to approach it as there’s simply nothing to talk about. When staring at a blank canvas, into an empty chasm or down an endless road, if there are no reference points, giving any sort of direction is impossible. As instructors or peers, we need something from the student to start with.

Instead, the expectation is that students come to class with a full bucket.

In class, we dump that bucket on the table and help the student to sort out which of the bits are good, which are bad — and most importantly, why. They then go home with a half-full bucket of good stuff ready to top it off for the next class… and we start the process again the next session. However, since we started with a bucket half-full of already good materials, the percentage of good goes up week-by-week until we end up with a bucket full of relatively good stuff by the finale.

At the Academy, we often say “we’ll meet you 1/2 way”… but starting with a full bucket, as opposed to a half-full one is an even better place to start. So, next week, work on filling the bucket before coming to class.

(image source)