Rigor Is...

What is rigor?  What does it mean to be rigorous?  This is what I have been reflecting on lately.

Rigor IS...

• Rigor is inspiration.  Rigor is a teacher who wants to be in class.  Rigor is "as much about teacher engagement as it is about student engagement"  (Livaccari).  It is teachers who are inspired to be innovative in helping students achieve rigorous and thoughtful learning targets, and thus inspire students.
• Rigor is playful.  It is open-ended questions.  It is risky.  It is innovation.  It is student-centered.  Rigor is thinking outside of the box, and sometimes constructing a whole new box altogether.
• Rigor is scaffolded.  Rigor is an ongoing climax of continuous levels of learning.  Some days in a classroom may not be that rigorous, however all days should be rising up to rigor.  Rigor is a pathway that is built while walking on it.
• Rigor is depth.  It is looking at content on a meaningful level.  In fact, more information very rarely leads to rigor.  "In virtually all AP classes visited, teachers were covering more academic content at a faster pace.  But the primary competency students were being asked to master was the ability to memorize copious amounts of information for the test"  (Wagner)  Rigor is going deeper into subject matter, making interdisciplinary connections, creating relevant learning links to the real world, and providing students multiple opportunities to apply knowledge.
• Rigor is a community of people who have high expectations for themselves and each other.  This happens on a classroom level, where students are engaged with thought-provoking material, teachers are perpetually reflecting on and modifying their own practice, and all parties own responsibility in making sure everyone learns.  This happens as well on a school level.  A student should proceed throughout the day knowing all teachers have high expectations for them, no matter what class or content.
• Rigor is messy, because rigor is individualized.  Rigor is the epitome of differentiation, because it should balance holistically students' strengths, learning targets, and interests.  Rigor is controlled chaos, so that students are driving their learning.
• Rigor is not for gifted and honors students.  Rigor is for EVERYONE.  Teaching to the lowest common denominator does not raise achievement; it merely mimics it.  Teaching rigorously raises student achievement, interest, and ownership.
• Rigor is holistic.  "It stretches your mind, engages your body and soul" (Defining Rigor, ed.)
• Rigor reflects societal expectations and definitions of success.  "[There is] a lack of alignment between what is required to get into college vs. what's needed to stay in college and succeed as an adult" (Wagner).  What America needs now is innovation.  Students who are risk-takers, who challenge the system in hopes of a better one, who are not encaged by systemic oppression.  Our classrooms--if they are to be rigorous--must be a space where thinking is fostered, questioning is encouraged, and creating is essential.  They cannot be tracks designed to cover material, rather open fields of freedom and student centered learning.  Again, Wagner:  "Rigor in the classroom...was invariably tied to the larger questions of what society will demand of students when they graduate, what it means to be an educated adult, and how the skills needed for work, citizenship, and continuous learning have changed fundamentally in the last quarter-century."
• Rigor demands of students to both think and work (see article on Rigor/Relevance Framework).
• Rigor is like a thrilling sporting event.  It requires students and teachers "to leave it all on the field."  It is paradoxically draining and energizing.

How do you define rigor?