Flexibility – a Teacher Superpower

As technology has invaded American classrooms, two trends should concern anyone who cares about real learning:

1. Screens are becoming the default fallback.
   When there’s downtime, students are often handed a device. What used to be a moment for trying another problem, exploring something creative, or reflecting on learning gets filled with passive consumption.
   
   
2. Teachers—especially newer ones—are deferring to the tech.
   Instead of adapting the lesson to meet students where they are, teachers feel boxed in by a platform’s pacing or structure. They assume they have to follow it to the letter—even when their instincts say otherwise.
   
   

That’s not what tech is supposed to do.
And that’s certainly not what teaching should be.

Teaching is not rigid. It’s responsive. It’s creative. It’s alive.

Yes, flexing too much can cause chaos. That’s why great teachers spend the first few weeks of school building strong routines, clear norms, and shared expectations. They don’t do that to lock the year into place. They do it to earn flexibility later—so they can adjust this afternoon’s lesson to today’s students.

The best classrooms aren’t the ones that run perfectly to a script. They’re the ones that respond meaningfully to students in real time, whether based on formative data, or based on the class’ energy.

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So how do teachers reclaim flexibility? Try this:

• Swap the fallback. Instead of sending students to a default app, prep one open-ended task they can jump to if they finish early—a “stretch” question, a reflection prompt, or a creative challenge that does not rely on scripted 3rd party content.
  
  
• Ask: What does my real-time data tell me right now? Pick one signal—class on taskness, a formative data point, energy, even volume—and make a meaningful real-time decision based on what students need right now.
  
  
• Keep one thing unscripted. Even in a highly structured day, leave room and plan for something to be decided in the moment.
  
  
• Use tools that bend to you—not the other way around. Any tech or curriculum you use should support your judgment, not override it.
  
  

If you’re reading this, you probably already know that. In fact, many teachers tell us that Classkick helps them break out of this very problem. They migrate their lessons into Classkick because it lets them reshape content to their class’ needs, adapt slides in real time, and give support the moment it’s needed.

That’s what teacher flexibility looks like. A classroom scaffolded to the right steepness for your learners. This is at the heart of great teaching, planning and pedagogy.

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