Last Friday I was reminded the importance of stepping back from being a teacher and instead, being a co-learner.
On Fridays, the kids have the entire two hours for free time. The normal bunch headed straight for the computers (some even by-passing snack they wanted to play Roblox that badly). It was a quieter day at the center so I approached two 4th grade girls.
“Hey, mind if I play Roblox with you guys?”
“Yes come play with us Miss Hailley!”
I sat down at a computer, logged into my account while I heard a few others around me exclaim, “I forgot Miss Hailley had an account.”
As I navigated the menus, the girl sitting next to me notice she and I were not friends. “Request me as a friend Miss Hailley!” she said as she wandered around the game “Welcome to the Neighborhood of Robloxia.” I added this girl as a friend and she exited the game to accept the request.
“Miss Hailley let me know where you are [in the world] and I’ll come pick you up!”
I waited patiently to get into the game. It was night when my Roblox character got placed in the world, but it was no problem for the two girls I was playing with, since they knew that town inside and out. Before I could blink, a car with the two girls inside had rolled up in front of my screen.
“Get in Miss Hailley!”
I got in and the girls took me to a sub-division of houses. I quickly learned that you can “buy” a house by simply setting foot in an empty house — the floating text will change to say you own the house. I explored the house with the girls, including a few additional students sitting across from me.
“I’ll be right back Miss Hailley, I’m going to buy a house. Make sure to lock your doors when I leave!”
I explained to the girls I didn’t know how to lock my Roblox house and they were quick to point out how the locking system worked. I thanked them and continued to explore my simple two story house. Eventually I got pulled away from the Roblox world to help a student.
When I got back to my computer, I saw that my Miss Hailley character had been taken out of the house and was back in a car. “We’re going to school Miss Hailley,” they told me as I sat back down. I nodded, glad they didn’t forget about me.
Throughout the rest of free time, I learned all sorts of things about Roblox (including the fact I don’t have enough Roblox friends, something I must work on according to one student). It was fun to just play around with the students, sitting side by side instead of leaning over their shoulder. I think I need to do that more often; be an integral part of their experience and value that moment. It shows the students that I do care about what they are doing and that I too can play with them.
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