Everyday Educator - Assessing How-Tos with Rachael Moriarty
00:00:00.000 | (upbeat music)
00:00:02.440 | - Welcome friends to this episode
00:00:04.740 | of the "Everyday Educator" podcast.
00:00:07.440 | I'm your host, Lisa Bailey,
00:00:09.440 | and I'm excited to spend some time with you today
00:00:12.040 | as we encourage one another, learn together,
00:00:15.360 | and ponder the delights and challenges
00:00:18.180 | that make homeschooling the adventure of a lifetime.
00:00:21.360 | Whether you're just considering
00:00:23.440 | this homeschooling possibility,
00:00:25.560 | or deep into the daily delight of family learning,
00:00:29.460 | I believe you'll enjoy thinking along with us.
00:00:33.080 | But don't forget,
00:00:34.720 | although this online community is awesome,
00:00:38.060 | you will find even closer support in a local CC community.
00:00:43.060 | So go to classicalconversations.com
00:00:46.800 | and find a community near you today.
00:00:50.960 | Well, listeners, welcome to this second session
00:00:55.760 | about assessment.
00:00:57.400 | We had such a great time with Rachel last week,
00:01:00.680 | introducing us to a new way to look at assessment
00:01:06.200 | that she has come back with us today
00:01:09.200 | to give us some very practical how-tos.
00:01:13.160 | If, however, you missed the last episode,
00:01:16.840 | I wanna give you a teaser and set the stage
00:01:20.360 | for what we learned together last week
00:01:23.360 | so that we can jump ahead a little farther
00:01:26.840 | in our exploration of assessment.
00:01:28.920 | So last time, Rachel helped us see assessment
00:01:33.920 | as relational first,
00:01:37.640 | all about considering our student
00:01:41.480 | and how he or she is growing,
00:01:44.600 | not just how well our student finished the work, okay?
00:01:49.600 | That may be a new view of assessment for some of us.
00:01:52.960 | We also got a new view of assessment
00:01:56.000 | as potentially restful,
00:01:58.960 | a whole new idea for many of us.
00:02:01.440 | Restful assessment is all about sitting with the Lord
00:02:06.440 | as we help our student to grow.
00:02:10.160 | Last time, we also recognized that assessment
00:02:13.560 | is not just about the end.
00:02:17.080 | It's not something we do just at the end of the course
00:02:20.600 | or the end of a semester or the end of a year.
00:02:23.960 | Assessment is the daily process
00:02:27.960 | that helps us gauge and get in touch
00:02:32.520 | with the up and back experience
00:02:36.520 | of growing alongside our student.
00:02:39.680 | Rachel helped us see that there's a rhythm to assessment,
00:02:43.400 | an ebb and a flow.
00:02:45.800 | And, and this was perhaps for some of us
00:02:49.360 | the most convicting,
00:02:51.960 | we learned that joyful assessment
00:02:56.320 | really rest with us.
00:02:59.720 | It's not the student,
00:03:03.320 | it's not the assessing.
00:03:06.160 | If we change the way we see our job
00:03:11.160 | as parent, teacher, assessors,
00:03:15.000 | if we change the way we see our children,
00:03:18.560 | if we change the way we see the skills
00:03:22.120 | that we are assessing,
00:03:24.560 | our assessment might become more joyful.
00:03:27.880 | So that sets us up for where we find ourselves today.
00:03:32.520 | The new question becomes,
00:03:34.880 | how in the world do we do this?
00:03:37.440 | Rachel, did you realize
00:03:38.800 | that you helped us do so many great things last time?
00:03:42.440 | - I know, I was thinking, wow,
00:03:44.160 | that sounds like an episode I should go listen to.
00:03:47.880 | I frequently think that when I've told somebody
00:03:50.600 | something that the Lord's placed on my heart
00:03:52.520 | and they tell me what they heard.
00:03:54.320 | And I think, really, you heard that?
00:03:56.320 | Oh, that was really great.
00:03:58.400 | Good going, Lord, you produced a good message.
00:04:02.600 | But that's what I got
00:04:04.040 | from what you shared with us last time.
00:04:05.560 | So listeners, if you missed
00:04:08.200 | the joy of assessment, assessing joyfully last time,
00:04:13.200 | go back and pick up that episode.
00:04:16.200 | I think that you will be blessed
00:04:18.680 | by getting a new view of assessment.
00:04:23.160 | But here we are now, Rachel,
00:04:24.800 | and the question becomes, how do we do this?
00:04:27.640 | And one thing that I remember that I loved
00:04:30.320 | that you gave us last time
00:04:33.280 | was a fuller picture of what assessment really is.
00:04:37.800 | That there's really, what I picked up on,
00:04:40.000 | and there's probably a lot more
00:04:40.920 | and I might've missed something,
00:04:42.120 | but I picked out five things, five aspects,
00:04:46.920 | five pieces of assessment of what we do
00:04:51.120 | as we are assessing our child
00:04:53.160 | and their grasp of the concept.
00:04:55.520 | So knowing the information
00:04:57.840 | is absolutely part of assessment,
00:05:00.520 | but then understanding the information,
00:05:05.320 | practicing well enough, often enough,
00:05:09.560 | and deeply enough so that you can,
00:05:12.640 | your student can articulate the information.
00:05:16.720 | And then the last part of assessment
00:05:19.440 | might actually be the most important.
00:05:21.640 | Where is our student's heart in all of this?
00:05:25.160 | How has what we have learned together
00:05:28.480 | changed our student's heart?
00:05:31.240 | I love all of that.
00:05:33.920 | I love all of that.
00:05:35.400 | And I know that for you,
00:05:37.160 | you weren't just born knowing all of this wisdom
00:05:42.160 | about assessment.
00:05:43.640 | You've had a paradigm shift toward assessment.
00:05:48.240 | Talk to us about how that paradigm shift
00:05:50.560 | changed your homeschooling.
00:05:53.520 | Tell us your story, Rachel.
00:05:55.680 | - Yeah, absolutely.
00:05:56.880 | Well, thank you again for having me today, Lisa.
00:05:58.840 | I'm excited about our conversation.
00:06:00.720 | You know, my story is gonna be,
00:06:04.720 | it's like the first step is something
00:06:07.520 | that we don't like to encounter,
00:06:09.520 | but it's doing something poorly.
00:06:12.120 | None of us love to do things poorly,
00:06:15.040 | but in order to do something well,
00:06:16.920 | you have to be willing to do it poorly first.
00:06:20.280 | And so that is the same with assessment.
00:06:23.760 | As I began to learn in a different way
00:06:28.760 | and have a different mindset,
00:06:32.120 | that mindset has to change, right?
00:06:34.040 | I had to walk that out in practice.
00:06:37.320 | And that practice can come much easier
00:06:40.720 | than you think it is or can, it would happen, right?
00:06:44.880 | - Yeah.
00:06:46.120 | - So for me, I have six children
00:06:50.680 | and assessing a 21-year-old
00:06:54.920 | is different than assessing a six-year-old, right?
00:06:57.320 | - So true.
00:06:59.000 | - But you're doing it all the way across the board
00:07:01.720 | with every age.
00:07:03.360 | So learning some of these skills,
00:07:05.880 | I would say one of the thing,
00:07:08.480 | first pieces that I was willing to like,
00:07:13.080 | okay, Lord, what do I do?
00:07:14.160 | How do I do this?
00:07:15.280 | I'd say that really resonated with me
00:07:17.240 | was allowing your student to self-assess first, right?
00:07:22.240 | And so that takes a lot of pressure
00:07:25.120 | off of the assessor too,
00:07:27.640 | is that our first goal is listening.
00:07:31.080 | Anytime you're assessing,
00:07:32.960 | you cannot assess well without first listening well.
00:07:37.920 | - That's so good.
00:07:39.520 | - How am I gonna know if there is a character issue
00:07:43.400 | or a heart issue that needs to be addressed
00:07:45.480 | if I am not listening to my student or my child, right?
00:07:50.480 | And that is something that we have to practice.
00:07:55.520 | I mean, I'll be honest, Lisa,
00:07:57.880 | it's easier for me to talk than it is for me to listen.
00:08:00.520 | - Oh my word, I resonate with that.
00:08:03.320 | - Yes, I mean, some people are internal processors.
00:08:05.920 | I'm an external processor.
00:08:07.720 | And so then those thoughts just start flying
00:08:10.800 | and I, before you know it, I'm not listening.
00:08:13.520 | So practicing asking a question
00:08:18.520 | that causes your student to self-assess and listen
00:08:23.960 | is the first step of how you assess well.
00:08:27.720 | - That is really good.
00:08:29.080 | That is really good.
00:08:29.920 | You know what, Rachel?
00:08:31.040 | I think that that is key.
00:08:34.320 | I love what you said about,
00:08:36.120 | it helps us to hear our student's heart.
00:08:38.520 | It also helps us to hear where our child feels
00:08:43.520 | either proficient or confident
00:08:47.960 | and where they recognize some lack or some need.
00:08:52.960 | - Yes.
00:08:53.800 | - And it's very helpful.
00:08:55.440 | Sometimes we look and we think,
00:08:57.920 | oh, well, this is what you're not good at,
00:08:59.680 | but that's not what the student feels unsure of.
00:09:03.200 | And so we need to know what it is
00:09:05.720 | that they think they're doing well
00:09:08.320 | and what it is that they perceive they need help with.
00:09:13.320 | - Yeah, I mean, choosing to listen to your student
00:09:18.360 | actually is practicing humility.
00:09:20.800 | You know, every time we pray, every time we listen,
00:09:24.520 | we're actually walking out humility
00:09:27.560 | because we often think that the master teacher,
00:09:32.560 | I must know all the information mindset
00:09:35.840 | that I was raised in,
00:09:37.840 | where you as an individual learn
00:09:41.280 | that it's not okay to not know.
00:09:44.000 | - Right.
00:09:44.840 | - Right, and that feeling then causes us to be defensive
00:09:48.400 | and respond with, well, I do know, you know?
00:09:51.600 | And so then, and that actually inhibits learning.
00:09:56.920 | And so changing that mindset, I think assessment,
00:10:01.920 | one of the fruits of doing this kind of assessment
00:10:07.160 | is that it births humility in us as people,
00:10:11.080 | as parents, as teachers,
00:10:13.360 | because when you are listening
00:10:16.280 | to how the student responds and sees themselves,
00:10:20.240 | you're actually giving room for the Holy Spirit to guide you
00:10:23.400 | because you may think you know what they need to be fixed
00:10:28.280 | until they start talking, and then you're like,
00:10:30.560 | oh, okay, we're going in a different direction.
00:10:34.080 | - I had no idea that this was the struggle, huh?
00:10:36.800 | This is probably the primary struggle
00:10:39.760 | that this is the struggle I should worry about.
00:10:42.320 | This other thing that I thought was the big deal
00:10:44.440 | is not really that big a deal.
00:10:46.360 | - Exactly, and a lot of those other things
00:10:48.760 | that are like blaring in our faces, right?
00:10:51.560 | A master teacher mindset would be,
00:10:53.400 | I know what you need to do to fix
00:10:56.680 | whatever needs to be fixed.
00:10:58.520 | But a classical assessor who is interested
00:11:02.920 | in recognizing the nature of the human in front of them,
00:11:07.920 | that they were made in the image of God,
00:11:11.640 | and that the Holy Spirit is within them,
00:11:15.440 | and that the Holy Spirit is their guide.
00:11:18.760 | And our really responsibility as a parent, as a teacher,
00:11:23.160 | is to steward them learning how to know Him, right?
00:11:28.160 | Make Him known, how to hear His voice.
00:11:32.600 | And so we can do that by starting with self-assessment
00:11:37.600 | and by listening so that they can basically ask,
00:11:45.280 | think, who am I?
00:11:47.640 | What did I do that was well?
00:11:49.240 | What did I not do that as well?
00:11:51.440 | Am I seeing the situation with truth, right?
00:11:56.440 | I mean, Jesus says, "Take every thought captive."
00:12:01.520 | How many of us have had a student
00:12:03.400 | who self-assesses themselves incorrectly, right?
00:12:07.920 | Like whether it be the student who said,
00:12:09.760 | "Man, I can't find a single thing wrong that I've done."
00:12:13.640 | Or it be the student who's like,
00:12:15.920 | "I didn't do anything right."
00:12:17.520 | I mean, I actually honestly find those students
00:12:21.600 | more often than I even do the other,
00:12:23.400 | where they just don't like what they've done,
00:12:27.280 | and they can't even see the good in it.
00:12:29.520 | - Yes, and that's hard.
00:12:32.000 | But that is important for us to know as parents
00:12:36.920 | who love on these students, these children,
00:12:39.240 | because that's a heart thing.
00:12:43.280 | That shows us where they need some building up at the heart
00:12:48.280 | before you can address any of the academic
00:12:55.320 | or otherwise assessing points.
00:12:57.880 | That's really good.
00:12:59.840 | - Yeah, and the thing is,
00:13:01.440 | is by asking your student to look at themselves,
00:13:06.440 | then it gives you insight while you listen
00:13:09.840 | to know, okay, what do I need to attend to first, right?
00:13:14.840 | That's always the thing, is arrangement.
00:13:18.120 | How, what is the most important thing?
00:13:22.080 | And the hardest part in assessing
00:13:24.040 | is I'm having to figure that out quickly, right?
00:13:28.480 | - Yes, while the child is standing in front of you,
00:13:31.560 | waiting for your assessment.
00:13:34.040 | - And there has been a moment, Lisa,
00:13:35.760 | where I'm having a hard time myself,
00:13:38.400 | and she's not coming to me,
00:13:40.360 | and I just have to stop and say,
00:13:42.520 | let's just pray for a minute.
00:13:43.880 | And we're just gonna ask the Lord to give us revelation,
00:13:46.600 | to give us understanding as to what the situation,
00:13:49.600 | sometimes that's what the student needs too,
00:13:51.400 | is they need to just reach out to God,
00:13:53.920 | Lord, help me to see myself clearly.
00:13:55.920 | - Yes, and sometimes it is okay to look at your student
00:14:00.120 | and say, well, this is going in a direction
00:14:03.200 | I didn't really see coming,
00:14:05.440 | and I'm gonna need to take a minute and think about this,
00:14:08.360 | can we just have our appointment in 20 minutes?
00:14:12.280 | I mean, I need to sit with this for a minute,
00:14:15.320 | I didn't realize that this was your struggle,
00:14:17.880 | or I didn't realize this was your felt need,
00:14:20.440 | or I didn't realize that this was hard in this way for you,
00:14:25.080 | like I viewed the situation wrong,
00:14:26.800 | so I'm prepared to help you in a way
00:14:29.040 | that you don't see as a problem yet,
00:14:32.280 | and not prepared to help you in a way
00:14:34.320 | that you are feeling stressed by.
00:14:37.240 | - Right, well, and actually it can trigger things in us
00:14:39.960 | as assessors.
00:14:40.800 | - Absolutely.
00:14:42.440 | - And being able to recognize that trigger and say,
00:14:45.400 | hey, let's come back to this,
00:14:47.080 | circle back in a little bit is actually wisdom, right?
00:14:50.920 | It's exercising wisdom because how many of us,
00:14:54.240 | especially when it's our children,
00:14:56.440 | find ourselves triggered in ways that we didn't,
00:14:59.720 | we need to do some self-assessment
00:15:01.920 | and go sit before the Lord and say,
00:15:03.720 | okay, Lord, what was that?
00:15:05.000 | Why did I get so angry?
00:15:06.880 | - Right. - In that moment?
00:15:08.520 | - Right, what made me defensive
00:15:10.560 | about this need in my student?
00:15:14.160 | - Right, and do I have some lies
00:15:17.200 | that need to be uncovered that I'm believing?
00:15:20.760 | And the Lord, He is so faithful to correct the thoughts,
00:15:25.760 | to help us to see whether it is a truth or a lie.
00:15:31.440 | And so whereas we are sitting before our student
00:15:35.160 | and we start with self-assessment,
00:15:36.920 | I just want to encourage each of you
00:15:39.800 | that it takes a burden off of you.
00:15:43.640 | When you choose to not pick up,
00:15:46.920 | like there's even a sense of codependency that can come
00:15:50.160 | when we think we should tell what needs to be done first
00:15:55.160 | instead of self-assessment first,
00:15:58.920 | because by you're taking on a responsibility
00:16:02.960 | that's not yours is what I'm trying to say.
00:16:05.600 | Oftentimes the assessor's purpose is to facilitate
00:16:10.600 | an awakening of the soul to truth
00:16:16.080 | that the Holy Spirit wants to reveal to them.
00:16:19.040 | And if we overstep that boundary
00:16:22.040 | and choose to tell them what we think first
00:16:25.200 | before we ask them to self-assess,
00:16:29.240 | we are in a way becoming our children's Holy Spirit.
00:16:33.360 | And I know that is not our heart as parents,
00:16:35.640 | but yet we find ourselves in that spot over and over.
00:16:38.640 | - Right, right, I think you're right.
00:16:42.160 | All of us would say,
00:16:43.440 | oh, that's absolutely what we desire above everything else,
00:16:47.280 | that we would usher our students
00:16:49.960 | into the presence of the Lord
00:16:52.160 | where the Holy Spirit can reveal and deal with
00:16:56.360 | and shore them up and love on them.
00:16:59.880 | But we get so busy and so convinced
00:17:04.880 | that we have to do something
00:17:09.160 | that we try to make that happen
00:17:12.480 | instead of just make that possible.
00:17:16.200 | - Exactly, open a space for an opportunity
00:17:21.200 | for them to encounter the Holy Spirit.
00:17:24.280 | And you don't have to spiritualize this.
00:17:26.960 | We are human.
00:17:28.280 | What I mean by that is they are body, soul, and spirit.
00:17:32.200 | The spirit is always involved, always.
00:17:34.920 | So you don't have to like do a formal prayer session even.
00:17:39.080 | You can just speak.
00:17:41.080 | I mean, prayer is just communion to God, right?
00:17:43.720 | So even with them doing self-reflection, okay,
00:17:47.400 | if my student's not willing to do self-assessment,
00:17:51.480 | that right there tells me
00:17:53.520 | the heart of where am I?
00:17:54.360 | - There's a heart issue, yeah.
00:17:56.880 | - Because we don't wanna look at ourselves.
00:18:00.080 | So the fact that they're willing to look at themselves
00:18:04.600 | is an act of humility on their part.
00:18:08.840 | And that takes a lot of courage and it's uncomfortable.
00:18:12.840 | And so being patient in that space,
00:18:16.440 | offering a space for them to do that,
00:18:19.840 | I cannot tell you how many times,
00:18:21.560 | like you asked for a story.
00:18:22.640 | I'm thinking of a story right now.
00:18:24.280 | I had my son, he came, he's 16 now,
00:18:28.320 | but this was a couple of years ago, he's 14.
00:18:30.080 | And I'm sure we all know the cliches
00:18:32.760 | of 14-year-old boys, right?
00:18:34.440 | - Of course, we've heard them all.
00:18:35.280 | - Who know all the things.
00:18:38.000 | Mom, I know it, you don't need to tell me, right?
00:18:41.160 | - Yes, I spent years in challenge B and challenge one.
00:18:44.360 | I know all of these people.
00:18:45.200 | - Exactly, yes, yes, okay.
00:18:48.000 | So I'm sitting down with him and he comes in
00:18:51.440 | and I start leading him through self-assessment
00:18:54.040 | of he's got a problem.
00:18:55.720 | And through that self-assessment, I'm like,
00:18:58.360 | well, what do you think you did well?
00:19:01.080 | And what did you, mom,
00:19:02.720 | and they're so used to the assessment form.
00:19:05.520 | - They know all these shrinky questions.
00:19:07.520 | - And they even can get annoyed with me, right?
00:19:09.840 | So I'll just pray with them and be like,
00:19:11.560 | okay, can we just take a minute?
00:19:13.240 | 'Cause if you're not willing to self-assess,
00:19:14.600 | where are you, right?
00:19:16.040 | Let's just take a minute and pray.
00:19:18.120 | And he did.
00:19:19.400 | And then he said, okay, fine, mom, let's, okay.
00:19:23.520 | - Let's do this thing.
00:19:24.560 | - Yeah, let's do this thing.
00:19:25.720 | So I said, okay, let's, and I just asked some questions.
00:19:29.040 | And do you know, sitting there in front of me,
00:19:31.400 | my son's heart became softened.
00:19:33.920 | - Yes.
00:19:34.760 | - And he then brought up issues
00:19:37.320 | that I didn't even know were there,
00:19:40.240 | but the Lord dealt with them with him
00:19:42.400 | without me even having to say a thing.
00:19:45.080 | And I'm sitting there going,
00:19:46.880 | oh, you're good, God, you're so good.
00:19:51.000 | Like this parenting thing,
00:19:52.560 | I am appreciative of being able to take some notes.
00:19:54.800 | - I'm just gonna move over here to the side, yeah.
00:19:57.200 | I'm just gonna sit over here
00:19:58.360 | and let you do this while I watch, yeah.
00:20:00.800 | - Yes, and it was like, oh,
00:20:03.480 | it is turning upside down my role as a parent,
00:20:08.440 | let alone as a teacher and an assessor, right?
00:20:11.560 | So learning these skills in a safe place,
00:20:14.600 | like with academics that feels like,
00:20:18.240 | oh, I have to do this, right?
00:20:19.840 | But learning those skillsets start to like leak over
00:20:23.960 | into all the areas of your life.
00:20:26.680 | - And you know what, I'm just triggered.
00:20:28.320 | - Absolutely, and I just want to say
00:20:30.960 | what a great thing this is,
00:20:34.880 | what a great process it is to usher our children into
00:20:39.880 | because I was sitting here thinking,
00:20:43.600 | wow, how great for them to learn to live peacefully
00:20:48.600 | with this process when they're young
00:20:53.680 | so that it becomes their knee jerk reaction to all of life.
00:20:58.680 | They are constantly thinking,
00:21:01.820 | what should I be learning here?
00:21:04.200 | What am I doing well?
00:21:05.680 | What is the Lord trying to show me?
00:21:07.840 | Where is the teachable moment?
00:21:10.800 | And just to have a parent who is modeling that
00:21:14.520 | and walking them through that is amazing.
00:21:19.360 | - Well, it's easier.
00:21:22.600 | That's the thing, when he says my burden is light
00:21:25.160 | and my yoke is easy.
00:21:27.000 | Lisa, it's easier to parent using this form of assessment
00:21:32.000 | when you internally--
00:21:33.000 | - Yes, 'cause you don't have to know all the answers
00:21:35.520 | before you ask the questions.
00:21:37.920 | - Exactly, and that's the key
00:21:40.400 | is that as we learn how to ask questions
00:21:43.200 | and we learn the form, right?
00:21:45.640 | Then you're able to play within that form
00:21:49.400 | and there is not a heavy burden.
00:21:51.800 | And it has been life changing for my own soul
00:21:56.800 | to learn these skill sets.
00:21:58.320 | I mean, who would have thought when CeCe years ago
00:22:01.800 | would say, oh, for instance, the model or mission statement
00:22:05.640 | of classical conversations to know God
00:22:08.320 | and to make him know, right?
00:22:09.520 | That's the purpose of all of education,
00:22:11.240 | of even learning in the first place.
00:22:13.480 | That resonated with me as a parent.
00:22:15.120 | Yes, I want that for my kids.
00:22:16.880 | - Yes.
00:22:18.000 | - And so, but how do you do it?
00:22:21.160 | And then eventually, yeah, you're in a,
00:22:24.520 | and someone's telling you you should learn Latin
00:22:26.600 | and you're going, this has no connection to God.
00:22:28.880 | I don't understand.
00:22:29.720 | - I know, it's like, how does that relate
00:22:32.720 | to this great reason I started all this?
00:22:35.680 | - Yes, and so 20 years down the road,
00:22:38.480 | I can affirmatively tell you, Lisa,
00:22:40.640 | that the form of rhetoric,
00:22:42.920 | of grammar, dialectic, and rhetoric,
00:22:44.680 | of my mind being trained to think well,
00:22:48.040 | speak well, and write well,
00:22:50.440 | being is, it's actually opened doors
00:22:54.640 | to my ability to commune with God
00:22:56.560 | in a way that I could not have done before.
00:22:59.640 | It has walked me and ushered me into a place
00:23:03.200 | of knowing Him and being able to express
00:23:06.760 | not just a third party relationship of I know about Him,
00:23:11.080 | but I'm able to express the intimate relationship
00:23:13.480 | that I have with Him,
00:23:15.320 | not only to my friends and peers and coworkers,
00:23:19.320 | but also to my children, right?
00:23:21.800 | These are my people that I long for them
00:23:24.920 | to know Him personally in an intimate way.
00:23:29.080 | I had no idea years ago that learning how to assess
00:23:32.920 | would actually usher me into a place
00:23:36.320 | of learning how to teach my kids
00:23:39.160 | to hear His voice and know Him in a deeper way.
00:23:43.000 | And so that alone has been a surprise.
00:23:48.000 | It's like, yeah, that's what I wanted so long ago.
00:23:50.800 | And I want to encourage everyone,
00:23:54.080 | the how-to process is actually very easy.
00:23:58.560 | It starts with humility.
00:24:00.160 | It starts with self-assessment,
00:24:02.240 | but then what happens in listening on our part, right?
00:24:06.560 | It definitely needs to include
00:24:09.840 | an actual verbal invitation to the Lord to reveal, right?
00:24:14.840 | Reveal truth to us, God,
00:24:16.840 | even if it's not some formal prayer, just a statement.
00:24:19.280 | Lord, help.
00:24:20.400 | How many of us have been in those moments?
00:24:22.240 | Help, please. - Yes, help me Lord.
00:24:24.840 | - So He will.
00:24:26.920 | He's faithful to do that.
00:24:29.080 | And then what we need to do is to learn in that listening.
00:24:33.880 | We ask, I mean, I've actually even done this internally.
00:24:37.440 | I'm listening going, okay, Lord,
00:24:39.640 | what is it that you want me to attend to, right?
00:24:43.240 | So I'm inviting Him into the process
00:24:45.480 | of me giving feedback to my student.
00:24:50.400 | Did they assess themselves correctly, number one?
00:24:54.160 | And then number two, if they didn't see it themselves,
00:24:58.880 | chances are they're not ready for it.
00:25:01.440 | - Right. - That's a clue to us.
00:25:04.960 | Do my students understand and know?
00:25:10.320 | If they don't know, they didn't see it,
00:25:15.280 | then it's either maybe they're not emotionally ready for it
00:25:18.960 | or maybe they think that they don't need it.
00:25:24.560 | If we don't think we need help in something,
00:25:26.920 | we're not pretty much prone to accept help
00:25:29.600 | 'cause we already got it, right?
00:25:31.400 | - Exactly.
00:25:32.680 | - That pride can rise up in an individual.
00:25:35.160 | So it makes me think of the story of David in the Bible.
00:25:40.160 | And David has the prophet, what was his name?
00:25:44.760 | - Nathan. - Nathan, I think, yes.
00:25:46.440 | Okay, Nathan comes into him
00:25:50.480 | and he is going, led by the Lord to rebuke him
00:25:55.280 | for the sin of stealing another man's wife
00:25:59.880 | and of sexual immorality and murder.
00:26:02.120 | Now these are pretty big things to have to self-assess.
00:26:04.840 | - Yes, but he starts by telling him a story about sheep.
00:26:07.720 | - Exactly, right.
00:26:10.480 | Which telling him a story about sheep,
00:26:12.440 | that's a little less triggering, wouldn't you say?
00:26:16.000 | - Yes, yes, I mean, I could easily see the king thinking,
00:26:20.320 | well, this doesn't really have anything to do with me
00:26:22.560 | so I'm not on my guard.
00:26:24.200 | I don't have my shield up.
00:26:26.280 | Nobody's attacking me.
00:26:27.480 | This is not about me.
00:26:28.680 | It's about a shepherd.
00:26:30.080 | - And you better believe that David was defensive
00:26:32.480 | right out the door as Nathan walked in.
00:26:35.000 | I mean, prophets don't come and visit kings.
00:26:37.200 | - Right, I know you're coming to smack my hand.
00:26:40.160 | - Exactly, and he knows he sinned, right?
00:26:43.000 | So he's expecting some kind of smack.
00:26:46.080 | So to have a invitation, that's what happened
00:26:50.880 | is that Nathan invited him into a conversation
00:26:54.920 | to contemplate truths
00:26:58.400 | in a third objective, third party view.
00:27:02.960 | And that invitation was received.
00:27:05.840 | So that reception right off the bat tells Nathan,
00:27:10.840 | okay, he's interested in having a conversation.
00:27:13.920 | And maybe even just having the conversation
00:27:16.680 | is helping him to, the Lord is softening his heart, right?
00:27:20.840 | 'Cause maybe he has a will, he could have chosen no,
00:27:23.560 | but he said yes, so his heart is being softened.
00:27:26.480 | And then Nathan tells him a story.
00:27:28.440 | Do you remember the story?
00:27:29.680 | You have to tell me. - I do.
00:27:30.800 | - Okay, tell me the story.
00:27:32.040 | - Well, he tells him about a man who has a lot of sheep.
00:27:37.040 | He tells him, and the bottom line is that
00:27:41.800 | he says, and this guy who had everything
00:27:45.600 | went after the belongings of a much poorer man.
00:27:50.600 | And what do you think should be done?
00:27:57.360 | - Right, and what does David, how does he respond?
00:28:00.480 | - Oh, this guy was way out, way off.
00:28:04.280 | He should be punished.
00:28:05.440 | He has done a despicable thing.
00:28:09.560 | And who is this guy?
00:28:11.480 | And I will fix this situation.
00:28:14.440 | - Right. - And Nathan is like,
00:28:16.840 | hey, guess what?
00:28:18.040 | - You, you are that guy. - You're the one.
00:28:22.080 | - You're the one. - Right?
00:28:23.400 | Now, what if David had responded with,
00:28:26.120 | I don't see the problem, what's wrong with that?
00:28:29.440 | - Right, or this is, yeah, yeah.
00:28:32.840 | Then I guess that Nathan would know
00:28:37.800 | that David was not, his heart was not ready
00:28:42.800 | to receive truth, that he was not able to judge justly
00:28:48.000 | even in this situation.
00:28:53.760 | - Right, and I mean, and as a king,
00:28:56.080 | we see in history tells us there's lots of kings
00:28:59.000 | who did not know how to judge justly, right?
00:29:02.480 | And so here is David.
00:29:05.320 | If he didn't respond in a way that he understood justice,
00:29:10.320 | then it could be, it's not that he's evil,
00:29:12.840 | it could be that he's had poor training
00:29:14.880 | that needs to be corrected, right?
00:29:16.720 | And Nathan would have to identify that.
00:29:18.720 | It could be that he doesn't care about justice.
00:29:22.760 | And even though he has been taught correctly,
00:29:25.760 | he doesn't care.
00:29:26.920 | - Or that he's gotten all involved in situational ethics.
00:29:30.200 | You know, well, this is not as bad in this situation
00:29:32.560 | or it's not as bad as this other thing.
00:29:35.800 | - Right, right.
00:29:36.960 | And so Nathan's having to assess that.
00:29:38.840 | Now, the thing is, is Nathan had relationship with David.
00:29:41.520 | This was not a first encounter.
00:29:43.680 | So that plays a part in how we can assess.
00:29:48.280 | If we know someone better, like our children,
00:29:51.360 | we're able to see very quickly patterns in their life
00:29:54.960 | of other spaces that the Lord will bring up
00:29:57.760 | to help connect the dots
00:29:59.360 | as to what the truth may be in that situation.
00:30:02.840 | But if it's somebody that you don't know,
00:30:04.120 | you might have to ask more questions.
00:30:06.280 | But in this case, Nathan had a relationship with him.
00:30:10.040 | He had invited him and David had accepted the invitation.
00:30:14.360 | He presented an objective, you know, a third party,
00:30:18.760 | what's the word?
00:30:19.600 | Objective story to help him to see a truth
00:30:24.040 | so that by the time he then turned it to,
00:30:27.160 | well, David, you are that man.
00:30:30.080 | It caused him to come to a place of repentance.
00:30:34.920 | - Yes.
00:30:36.120 | - And that repentance is huge.
00:30:39.200 | - He was able to see himself standing against the truth
00:30:44.200 | he really believed.
00:30:47.080 | He was finally able to see himself in his actions
00:30:51.280 | as opposed to what he held to in his heart.
00:30:55.160 | And he found himself apart from God.
00:30:58.920 | - Exactly.
00:31:00.040 | And so what it did was what repentance always does,
00:31:03.400 | it drives us to the feet of our creator.
00:31:07.040 | And he went and he repented,
00:31:10.040 | received the message as to what he needed to do.
00:31:13.000 | And that encounter is the kind of encounters
00:31:17.440 | that I experienced with all of my people all the time.
00:31:21.920 | Because when, now let me rephrase that,
00:31:25.880 | when I practice these tools, Lisa,
00:31:29.240 | there are still times that I find myself
00:31:31.680 | telling my students, my children,
00:31:34.920 | what I think before I walk them into self-assessment.
00:31:38.360 | And I'm telling you, it does not get the same results
00:31:41.920 | as when I practice and employ these skills of assessment.
00:31:46.920 | It is first and foremost relational,
00:31:50.120 | but it is conversational.
00:31:52.280 | And if you need to know more information,
00:31:54.600 | you ask more questions.
00:31:56.600 | And recognizing that when any time that we're assessing,
00:32:01.200 | we're always considering the content that we're assessing
00:32:05.280 | in tension with the student, in tension with ourselves.
00:32:09.720 | And of course that makes us think of triangles, right?
00:32:13.040 | - Right.
00:32:14.160 | - And that triangle of that perfect tension,
00:32:17.480 | it's not accidental that the triangle
00:32:20.760 | is a symbol of the Trinity of God.
00:32:23.080 | - Yes.
00:32:23.920 | - And inviting him into this process,
00:32:27.480 | he made us be in communion,
00:32:30.800 | not only with him, but with each other.
00:32:33.160 | And our relationship in communion with each other
00:32:35.840 | actually facilitates and drives us
00:32:39.480 | to our relationship with him,
00:32:40.920 | which is what you saw with David, right?
00:32:44.160 | And so I'm just thinking,
00:32:49.160 | okay, Lord, what's the next step then in assessment?
00:32:54.080 | How do we do this thing?
00:32:55.960 | - Yes, because I love the groundwork that you've laid
00:33:00.080 | that helps us see the content,
00:33:03.120 | which is what most of us start with when we think,
00:33:06.200 | okay, it was time to do assessment.
00:33:07.880 | Oh, it's the end of the semester, it's the end of the year,
00:33:10.640 | or I have to give somebody a grade for something.
00:33:13.680 | We start with the content,
00:33:16.400 | but what you're helping us see
00:33:18.120 | is that the content is always intention
00:33:22.320 | with the relationship that the student has to the Lord
00:33:26.160 | that has to us.
00:33:27.480 | So once we recognize that, what do we do?
00:33:32.520 | Where do we go next?
00:33:34.040 | - Yes, so after we've walked our student
00:33:36.080 | through self-assessment and we've invited God in
00:33:39.040 | to asking for arrangement help as to what to address,
00:33:44.040 | I always piggyback off of what the student sees,
00:33:48.840 | what they see in themselves,
00:33:51.440 | if they've judged themselves correctly, right?
00:33:55.400 | So there are times that you have a student
00:33:58.280 | where I'll throw some bonus pieces in is how I call it.
00:34:03.000 | Maybe they didn't see it,
00:34:04.160 | but I can tell that they're hungry for more,
00:34:07.680 | and that hunger is an invitation to me
00:34:10.160 | to be able to add one or two more things,
00:34:13.280 | but understanding that assessment is,
00:34:17.200 | there's lots of kinds of assessment.
00:34:19.680 | So what I just described to you as a step-by-step process,
00:34:23.360 | or what that we're in the middle of
00:34:25.600 | is one kind of assessment to bless.
00:34:28.840 | There are other kinds, like in my class that I teach online,
00:34:33.080 | I actually focus on a different style of assessment,
00:34:37.160 | which helps us to identify the sum total
00:34:40.800 | of what we would know on any given subject.
00:34:44.280 | And that helps us to understand,
00:34:46.440 | not necessarily the information,
00:34:48.800 | but on the skill sets that they possess or do not possess.
00:34:53.800 | So I think that's one piece of classical assessment
00:34:58.880 | that is different than a modern style of assessment
00:35:02.400 | is that we're focused on skill sets.
00:35:05.760 | - Yes, good. - Not just piles
00:35:07.920 | of information.
00:35:09.600 | - And that is something that's different for us,
00:35:12.120 | 'cause most of us who were presumably educated
00:35:16.240 | under the modern education system
00:35:18.080 | were totally assessed on information.
00:35:21.720 | What we know, what we can show, what we can solve,
00:35:25.200 | what we can prove, and not on the skills of listening
00:35:31.600 | or logical thinking or articulation or beauty,
00:35:36.600 | the skill of knowing how to use something beautiful.
00:35:40.560 | Yes, attending to things, noticing pieces
00:35:45.400 | and how they fit together.
00:35:48.040 | Yeah, I love that.
00:35:48.960 | That's very much a classical difference.
00:35:53.280 | - And it actually frees us,
00:35:56.320 | because if we have like a checklist of a hundred items
00:36:00.240 | and the student was able to acquire a skill
00:36:03.560 | in only 20 of those items that need to be checked off,
00:36:06.880 | then guess what?
00:36:08.160 | You're freed from those other 80 items,
00:36:10.800 | because the purpose is to learn things
00:36:14.720 | in order to acquire skills.
00:36:16.520 | I had a mom who told me years ago
00:36:19.440 | when I was first getting started,
00:36:21.200 | maybe only like three or four years
00:36:22.880 | into my own homeschooling journey with my kids,
00:36:24.760 | and she goes, "Rachel, you know you can't teach your kids
00:36:28.000 | "everything that they need to know, right?"
00:36:29.880 | - Right, there's always gonna be something you don't know
00:36:32.640 | or you don't get to.
00:36:34.560 | - Right, well, I honestly was like stuck when she said that,
00:36:39.560 | because I did believe that I was responsible
00:36:43.120 | for teaching them everything they should know.
00:36:46.200 | - Right, right.
00:36:47.160 | - And I didn't even know that I had that burden on me.
00:36:52.080 | And so for her saying that to me helped me go,
00:36:55.880 | "Oh, okay, well then what is my purpose?
00:37:00.240 | "What am I supposed to be doing?"
00:37:02.400 | Right, and so this learning how to teach skills,
00:37:07.400 | and that we are giving them skills
00:37:09.000 | that then the Lord continues that process
00:37:11.440 | of giving them what they need to know as they age,
00:37:14.400 | and other people in their lives,
00:37:16.280 | whether it be universities or mentors in their life, right,
00:37:20.120 | that come alongside them and guide them,
00:37:22.760 | then take over that responsibility of skill sets.
00:37:27.240 | That is freeing, Lisa, that is so freeing.
00:37:31.160 | - Well, and it is so much more successful
00:37:33.800 | if we will spend the time we have with our children
00:37:36.640 | preparing them to be learners,
00:37:39.880 | giving them the skills of learning,
00:37:42.760 | then they are prepared to learn whenever and wherever
00:37:47.200 | God drops in a lesson or a teacher.
00:37:50.600 | We have cultivated the soil
00:37:53.720 | so that it can actually receive a seed
00:37:57.320 | and produce a plant with fruit.
00:38:00.200 | - Exactly, and so then what happens
00:38:02.640 | is that by the time you're talking about
00:38:04.320 | something like a transcript,
00:38:06.320 | a transcript becomes minor.
00:38:09.680 | It's just a snapshot of their story.
00:38:13.120 | It's just a little picture, right?
00:38:17.360 | When you have a picture of a child
00:38:19.480 | that you post like your Christmas photo,
00:38:21.640 | that doesn't tell your whole story of your family,
00:38:24.760 | but it is just a quick view of an idea,
00:38:28.920 | a caricature of who they are,
00:38:31.680 | and that's what the transcript is.
00:38:33.640 | And so when we learn that we are assessing on skills
00:38:38.640 | and not content,
00:38:41.000 | then that also frees us of the burden of the transcript
00:38:44.680 | that we grade in a different kind of way
00:38:47.600 | than what a modern educator
00:38:50.960 | might see the transcript as or grade by.
00:38:53.880 | And we don't fit in the same rules, if you will.
00:38:58.040 | We have to play by the same rules.
00:38:59.720 | - Yes, and I just wanna say at this point, you guys,
00:39:03.320 | we are gonna have one more session with Rachel
00:39:06.480 | where she is going to take us through the transcript
00:39:11.080 | and how to build that snapshot,
00:39:15.240 | make our peace with the fact that it's a snapshot,
00:39:18.400 | but how do we produce that snapshot
00:39:21.760 | that will tell an accurate story to people
00:39:24.960 | who may be not looking at assessment
00:39:28.360 | in the same way that we have
00:39:30.160 | when we are producing a transcript for other people
00:39:33.320 | to use in other contexts.
00:39:37.320 | So we're gonna talk about that next time.
00:39:39.600 | So I just wanna use that as a teaser, Rachel.
00:39:42.440 | - I love it, I love it.
00:39:44.760 | - That is just great.
00:39:47.960 | - Yes, are there any other specific questions
00:39:53.000 | that you have for me today?
00:39:54.880 | - Well, I was gonna say,
00:39:57.480 | you have given us a whole lot of better reasons,
00:40:01.480 | better purposes for assessment,
00:40:03.520 | and you have given us something that I know
00:40:09.360 | is the real practical starting out step,
00:40:14.280 | the asking the question,
00:40:16.920 | asking the Lord to take control,
00:40:22.040 | listening to our student
00:40:26.280 | and listening to not just what they say,
00:40:30.320 | but where their heart is,
00:40:31.960 | how what they say pulls back the curtain
00:40:36.440 | on where their heart is
00:40:37.600 | and what they're ready to hear.
00:40:41.280 | And then I absolutely resonate
00:40:46.280 | with your classical emphasis
00:40:50.720 | and reminder to us that we are assessing skills,
00:40:55.120 | and that is more important.
00:40:59.200 | It's different than,
00:41:00.320 | and also more important than just assessing information
00:41:05.160 | that our children may have accumulated.
00:41:08.360 | Are there any other stages of assessment?
00:41:14.640 | I know that you alluded at the beginning
00:41:17.280 | when you're talking about your family,
00:41:18.600 | that there are different ways to assess children
00:41:22.880 | at different stages of their development.
00:41:25.160 | I mean, you can't really ask,
00:41:27.280 | if you're assessing your first grader,
00:41:29.960 | you don't necessarily put as much stock in.
00:41:33.760 | Well, what do you think you did well this year?
00:41:35.960 | Because they don't know
00:41:36.920 | what they are supposed to be doing.
00:41:39.760 | Are there some tips that,
00:41:43.480 | or are there different things you use
00:41:46.240 | to assess students of different ages/stages?
00:41:50.400 | - Well, that's a really good question.
00:41:53.080 | And I think that the form actually stays the same,
00:41:56.640 | but it's truncated for small children.
00:41:59.520 | - That's exactly what I'm going for.
00:42:01.520 | Practical help for people who are thinking,
00:42:03.760 | but I have a six-year-old, and I have a 10-year-old,
00:42:06.400 | and I have a 14-year-old, and I have a 17-year-old.
00:42:09.960 | - Right, yes.
00:42:11.560 | - How do I shuffle those?
00:42:14.600 | - Absolutely. - That process, okay.
00:42:17.720 | - Yep, so the themes,
00:42:19.600 | it's kind of like makes me think of jazz music, right?
00:42:24.160 | - Ooh.
00:42:25.000 | - Jazz music is actually a very complex form.
00:42:29.960 | And a lot of times you'll hear the word impromptu
00:42:33.760 | in regards to jazz music,
00:42:35.280 | but people think that they just make up stuff, right?
00:42:39.240 | Well, actually, the truth is that there is a theme,
00:42:44.080 | a melody, and there are forms
00:42:46.280 | that they have to have had learned first as a musician,
00:42:51.080 | and then they are able to have freedom within those forms.
00:42:55.640 | And the same plays out for a parent.
00:42:58.660 | When you learn the forms of assessment,
00:43:02.000 | and you learn the forms of learning,
00:43:05.480 | then when I'm applying them to a six-year-old,
00:43:09.280 | I'm able to play with it, if you will.
00:43:13.080 | And I almost like, you know how Darth Vader would walk in,
00:43:15.940 | and every time he walks in in "Star Wars,"
00:43:17.720 | his theme music starts to play?
00:43:19.720 | - Oh, yes, yes, yes.
00:43:22.160 | - So you're gonna start having theme music
00:43:26.240 | changing to each kid.
00:43:28.520 | You're gonna, things that the Lord is highlighting to you
00:43:32.880 | that needs to be addressed,
00:43:34.640 | certain skills that start to play over and over again
00:43:37.880 | when I encounter a student.
00:43:39.280 | You know, we've all been there even just in parenting.
00:43:41.080 | Oh, like Mrs. Pigglewiggle books, right?
00:43:44.440 | There's these little issues that have to be addressed
00:43:48.120 | in a particular kid.
00:43:49.080 | Now, I mean, if you love Mrs. Pigglewiggle,
00:43:52.280 | I've always thought of God as Mrs. Pigglewiggle in a way
00:43:55.240 | that he has every specific potion and cure
00:44:00.240 | for every kid in the whole world.
00:44:05.360 | So he does that to, he'll teach me
00:44:08.840 | through the self-assessment and walking,
00:44:10.640 | even my six-year-old.
00:44:11.740 | So I had my daughter, my youngest,
00:44:14.440 | she came in and I was sitting in a chair,
00:44:16.280 | drinking my coffee.
00:44:17.320 | And you know, sometimes, I will be honest,
00:44:20.360 | I love it when she snuggles,
00:44:21.760 | and then there are other times that I'm like,
00:44:22.960 | "Wow, you're interrupting my moment."
00:44:24.920 | (laughs)
00:44:25.760 | - With my mom, my time.
00:44:27.400 | - Yeah, which is, you know, an interesting thing,
00:44:30.200 | 'cause it could be that I have to assess in that moment
00:44:32.640 | that the Lord wants to teach me something about patience
00:44:36.140 | and how this interruption is actually,
00:44:38.440 | it is the parts of parenting, exactly.
00:44:42.600 | And so this one particular day,
00:44:44.760 | she came into my lap and I was praying
00:44:47.280 | and she's like, "What are you doing?"
00:44:48.360 | And I'm like, "Oh, I'm asking Jesus
00:44:50.160 | if there's anybody that I need to forgive."
00:44:52.280 | And she goes, "I wanna pray too."
00:44:54.720 | And I go, "Oh, okay, well, let's ask Jesus."
00:44:57.680 | So we did.
00:44:58.520 | I was able to walk her through hearing and listening
00:45:02.440 | to whom the Lord thinks that she needs to forgive.
00:45:05.200 | Well, then it ended up being this beautiful,
00:45:07.000 | like three minute interaction
00:45:09.880 | of her forgiving her sister over something.
00:45:12.960 | And what I learned from that moment is,
00:45:17.760 | I was listening, the Lord was highlighting, right?
00:45:21.440 | Something needed to be addressed.
00:45:23.080 | He, and her attentiveness as a six-year-old
00:45:26.240 | to want to pray, that tells me something right away, right?
00:45:29.440 | That this, okay. - Yes, yes.
00:45:30.760 | That God has softened her heart.
00:45:33.000 | - Exactly, 'cause I didn't ask her.
00:45:33.840 | - The Holy Spirit has made her ready.
00:45:35.660 | - Uh-huh, exactly, exactly, Lisa.
00:45:38.480 | He led her to me.
00:45:39.960 | Now he's asking for me to facilitate a space.
00:45:44.000 | And so as a six-year-old,
00:45:46.080 | I have to ask questions the same that I ask.
00:45:49.400 | Now, if it's a 16-year-old,
00:45:51.880 | I can ask different kinds of questions.
00:45:55.800 | I can probe a little bit deeper.
00:45:57.960 | My six-year-old only has like a five minute attention span.
00:46:02.320 | - Right. - That, you know,
00:46:03.880 | compare, and honestly,
00:46:04.920 | my 16-year-old only has slightly more, let's be honest.
00:46:07.720 | (both laughing)
00:46:10.320 | So, so I have to change
00:46:13.960 | based on what they're, how they're responding to me.
00:46:20.080 | The other thing that I would encourage you
00:46:22.840 | is in building relationship.
00:46:25.360 | Because even though a six-year-old,
00:46:27.840 | we recognize, okay, I build relationship with this child
00:46:30.640 | by reading to them, and doing, and like baking,
00:46:33.760 | and doing all the fun things
00:46:34.800 | that we like can be prompted to do.
00:46:37.800 | But a 16-year-old needs the same kind
00:46:40.720 | of relational equity, if you will.
00:46:43.000 | - Yes, yes. - As a six-year-old.
00:46:45.040 | So I need to schedule in one-on-one time every week
00:46:49.200 | with that kid, and I have six kids.
00:46:50.880 | And Lisa, I have to be intentional.
00:46:53.000 | - Yes, or it doesn't happen. - I mean, I have to do,
00:46:55.040 | yeah, like I have to assign a day to each kid.
00:46:58.720 | That that is your day,
00:47:01.120 | and I spend one hour on their day with them.
00:47:05.000 | Is it beautiful and exact every week?
00:47:07.080 | Not at all.
00:47:08.840 | - Right, right. - But it becomes
00:47:09.680 | a part of our culture.
00:47:11.440 | Like going to church. - It becomes
00:47:12.280 | a part of your rhythm.
00:47:13.200 | It's the rhythm of your family that this happens.
00:47:17.160 | - Yes. - Yeah.
00:47:18.000 | You have to schedule intentional time
00:47:21.400 | to have conversation, and assessment is no different.
00:47:25.400 | So if I want to assess all of my children,
00:47:28.560 | I have to intentionally schedule space
00:47:32.160 | and opportunities for assessment.
00:47:35.120 | And then sometimes I have to motivate myself to get there.
00:47:39.080 | - Yeah, yes. - You know, like
00:47:40.560 | with a good cup of coffee, a piece of dark chocolate,
00:47:43.560 | some, you know, a reward afterwards.
00:47:46.680 | Sometimes I do have to have those motivators
00:47:50.560 | just to make it happen. - Well, 'cause sometimes
00:47:52.320 | you know it's gonna be a hard conversation.
00:47:54.880 | - Yeah, yeah. - Or it's gonna be
00:47:56.360 | uncomfortable before it's comfortable.
00:47:58.920 | And that can be difficult.
00:48:02.040 | - Yeah. - That can be
00:48:02.880 | very difficult.
00:48:03.920 | - It can, it can.
00:48:05.960 | And so it does look, it does feel and look different
00:48:10.960 | to assess the different ages.
00:48:13.800 | But you know how I started off,
00:48:15.200 | I'm gonna circle back to the very first thing
00:48:17.240 | that I said, was that you have to be willing
00:48:20.520 | to do things poorly to begin with.
00:48:23.400 | And so here I'm encouraging you just to take a step
00:48:28.400 | to do it poorly, to schedule time in your life,
00:48:32.800 | to have a rhythm for assessment,
00:48:36.120 | to ask good questions, and to practice it.
00:48:40.960 | And when you choose to intentionally practice these forms
00:48:45.360 | with your family, what happens is you internalize them.
00:48:49.240 | And before you know it,
00:48:50.960 | it comes out in spaces you didn't schedule.
00:48:54.680 | - Yes. - It naturally flows
00:48:56.800 | through your parenting and your interaction with people,
00:48:59.880 | not only with my children, but with my spouse
00:49:02.800 | and with my peers.
00:49:04.400 | We learn how to invite, to offer hospitality,
00:49:09.400 | to be kind to our children,
00:49:12.400 | the same way we're kind to other people.
00:49:14.960 | How many of us have said that?
00:49:16.540 | Where it's like to your children, you're like,
00:49:18.520 | you need to treat your siblings better
00:49:21.560 | than you treat other people 'cause it's harder.
00:49:23.520 | And if you can do it with these people,
00:49:25.480 | you'll be able to do it with everybody else, right?
00:49:28.440 | - That's very true. - And so the same
00:49:29.600 | is with parenting.
00:49:31.240 | I have to learn how to treat my children just as good
00:49:35.400 | as I'm treating you here, Lisa, on this podcast.
00:49:39.240 | And setting aside space and learning these forms
00:49:44.120 | will actually help me to practice hospitality and kindness
00:49:49.120 | with the people who mean the most in my life.
00:49:52.560 | - Oh, wow.
00:49:54.640 | And that makes me eager to practice assessing
00:49:59.640 | because I really do want to love my family better.
00:50:04.320 | I really do want us to have a richer relationship.
00:50:09.320 | I really do want us to be comfortable helping one another
00:50:14.400 | to grow in the Lord and toward the Lord.
00:50:18.120 | And as he wants us each to grow,
00:50:21.000 | I would love to learn to help one another
00:50:26.000 | draw closer to the Lord.
00:50:28.360 | And that's what assessment can be.
00:50:31.680 | And I appreciate so much, Rachel,
00:50:34.240 | you spending this time helping us
00:50:36.240 | to get a new view of assessment
00:50:39.760 | or maybe a better handle on it,
00:50:42.480 | or at least permission to begin a new way of assessing
00:50:47.480 | that is a blessing to our whole family.
00:50:51.720 | Thank you so much.
00:50:52.840 | I also want to ask you,
00:50:55.280 | well, I want to give a promo to the next segment
00:50:59.000 | that we're going to do, which is about transcripts.
00:51:02.960 | And I want to give you a chance to talk to our listeners
00:51:07.680 | about another offering you have
00:51:09.280 | for folks who want to know more about assessing
00:51:11.520 | or maybe more about transcripts.
00:51:13.320 | Tell us about the classes you have coming up.
00:51:16.320 | - Absolutely.
00:51:17.160 | Thank you for this opportunity.
00:51:18.600 | - Yeah.
00:51:19.440 | - So, well, you can check us out
00:51:20.720 | at classicaltoolsforchange.com
00:51:22.920 | and that's for the number four.
00:51:25.600 | And we have a couple of conferences coming up
00:51:28.760 | that there's a six hour conference
00:51:30.680 | that really helps us to practice together
00:51:33.520 | the skills of assessment.
00:51:35.760 | Not only do we go through a lot
00:51:37.320 | of these great conversations of ideas in the first part,
00:51:41.200 | but we practice the skills of assessment.
00:51:43.000 | I model it for you and you get to then practice.
00:51:46.160 | Now that kind of assessment we do in my class
00:51:48.760 | or this conference is focused on being able
00:51:52.760 | to take that information and apply it to a transcript.
00:51:56.480 | Because the third part,
00:51:57.600 | then we're going through the logistics
00:51:59.080 | of crafting a transcript.
00:52:00.840 | - Yes.
00:52:01.680 | - And the conferences are kept small
00:52:02.880 | with a maximum of 12 students.
00:52:04.640 | And so we have a next one coming up
00:52:06.920 | is February 13th, 18th and 20th
00:52:09.240 | at 6 p.m. Eastern Standard Time.
00:52:11.680 | Yes.
00:52:12.520 | But maybe you're not ready to join on to that conference.
00:52:17.520 | I do have a free class that I'm offering,
00:52:21.480 | a one hour class that's gonna be February 1st
00:52:24.440 | at 11 a.m. Central Standard Time.
00:52:26.800 | So I guess that's noon Eastern Standard Time.
00:52:29.520 | - Gotcha.
00:52:30.360 | - And that is gonna be,
00:52:31.960 | the registration for that will be on our website,
00:52:34.480 | Classical Tools for Change on Facebook.
00:52:37.200 | Our website, you can connect to me directly,
00:52:39.920 | Rachel Moriarty and I can give you the information as well.
00:52:42.880 | I'm on all the social media interests.
00:52:45.640 | We have a page, Tools for Transcripts on Facebook as well.
00:52:49.880 | It'll be posted there.
00:52:51.520 | And that one hour class,
00:52:54.640 | I expand to 30 registrations.
00:52:57.560 | But we cut it off at 30.
00:52:58.920 | And that is a different purpose.
00:53:01.720 | Whereas in our online conference,
00:53:04.800 | we're learning how to do the thing.
00:53:07.160 | This free class, we're focusing on
00:53:09.760 | what is a transcript really?
00:53:12.040 | And I know we're gonna talk about that
00:53:13.440 | some more next visit with each other.
00:53:16.800 | But I wanted to be able to help people to see
00:53:20.280 | and walk them through a process of understanding
00:53:24.880 | its function and purpose within that form of assessing.
00:53:29.320 | And so we can, the dates again,
00:53:33.120 | are February 13th, 18th and 20th
00:53:35.480 | for our next live conference.
00:53:38.120 | - And that's a three part thing, right?
00:53:39.920 | - That's a three part class.
00:53:40.920 | - You come to all three of those days,
00:53:43.000 | not one of those days, yes.
00:53:44.760 | - Exactly, that's a full six hour,
00:53:47.160 | but we only meet two hours each time
00:53:49.040 | for three meetings in order to practice
00:53:52.440 | and get to know one another,
00:53:53.440 | answer all your questions, all of those things.
00:53:55.440 | And then the free class, one hour,
00:53:57.640 | I will have an also an opportunity
00:54:00.040 | for questions and answers of just those,
00:54:02.640 | I love they're called burning questions, right?
00:54:04.840 | The thing that you're just like,
00:54:06.000 | I've got to attend to this in order to hear.
00:54:09.560 | And so we can organize private events
00:54:13.120 | for your local community as well.
00:54:14.720 | So you can enjoy the conversations with your friends.
00:54:18.200 | But to just, if you want some more information
00:54:20.080 | or to register for any of these,
00:54:21.480 | just visit us at classicaltoolsforchange.com.
00:54:24.560 | - Oh, Rachel, that's so good.
00:54:25.800 | Thank you for offering to share with us
00:54:28.760 | what the Lord has revealed to you
00:54:30.640 | and what has changed your homeschooling experience.
00:54:34.280 | I appreciate you so much.
00:54:36.080 | And I'm already looking forward to our next conversation,
00:54:39.920 | which you guys will be about transcripts
00:54:43.480 | and how to see the transcript as a snapshot
00:54:47.520 | of your homeschool experience.
00:54:49.200 | All right, see you guys next time.
00:54:50.720 | Rachel, again, thanks.
00:54:51.960 | - All right, thank you.
00:54:53.040 | - All right, bye-bye.
00:54:54.400 | (soft music)
00:54:56.800 | you
00:54:58.860 | [BLANK_AUDIO]