Okay, I have a confession. I absolutely can drive over to my favorite pizza place, Brickhouse, and pick up a Greek salad with buffalo chicken (it is truly to die for) when I’m craving it, but truth be told, on days when my schedule is packed, having it delivered helps me protect the little pockets of time I need to stay on track with my goals, like getting this blog out into the world and actually eating lunch. Similarly, I could have drafted this by hand in a notebook, but I am much more efficient when I type.
Please know this is not an argument that everything should be fast. I indulge in long, lazy runs when I can, and I have zero problem sitting on the couch for an hour on Saturday mornings, sipping coffee while my kids and I watch SportsCenter. What I am trying to highlight is that when I make decisions, I am clear on what I need, what I am working toward, and how I make decisions that respect my time, my energy, and my priorities. And when I make decisions that align with my goals, I give myself a much better chance of reaching them.
We want students to build that same skill set. We want them to understand their goals, consider their context, and make choices that help them reach their goals. This requires that we provide students with options, but it’s important to remember that there shouldn’t be any “easy” options. Of course, there may be more accessible, more efficient, or more scaffolded choices, but in a universally designed classroom, the mantra “firm goals, flexible means” highlights that the firm goal drives the flexible means. And if you notice an option that really is “easy” and doesn’t allow all students to meet the firm goal, that’s just helpful information about the design. As the expert, you have the autonomy to adjust or replace it so every choice supports the same firm goal.
Sometimes we choose efficient options because they help us do better work. Other times, we choose them because we just don’t have the energy to take on something unnecessarily difficult, and we can still meet the goal. Kids do the same thing. That’s human. The difference is whether the option still requires them to meet the actual goal. If a choice allows students to bypass the thinking, the skill, or the level of rigor we’re aiming for, that isn’t a sign that students are lazy. It’s a sign that the option was not aligned well enough to protect the goal. So if an option truly lets students dodge the goal, that’s simply feedback about the design, and that’s when we adjust things so the learning stays at the center.
This perspective also helps us see that we cannot expect learners to challenge themselves in the exact same way every day. Self-regulated learners adapt. They choose what feels efficient, manageable, and purposeful, and those choices shift with context. Sometimes they want the stretch. Sometimes they want support. Sometimes they need a faster entry point so they can preserve energy for the next step. And if a student rarely chooses the more challenging option, that isn’t defiance or laziness. It’s a signal that they may need more modeling, more practice making decisions, or more clarity about the goal. It is the same pattern adults follow when we decide whether to cook dinner, order takeout, or reheat leftovers.
In short, the goal is not to eliminate efficient options. Efficiency is part of how learners manage their time, energy, and focus. The key is that every option aligns with the firm goal, which should be anchored to a grade-level standard. For example, if the goal is to build background knowledge before accessing a grade-level text to better understand the setting, listening to a text can be an efficient and completely appropriate choice. If the goal is to write a text-based response that requires students to cite evidence as they examine how the setting impacts the development of the plot, then a hard copy or digital version makes more sense because students need to mark up the text and reference it directly. When the goals are clear and the options are aligned, there is no easy option. There are only responsible choices that help learners do their best thinking.
