What if our standing homework assignment was to spend time with family, friends, and personal passions? Time to work on our home, not just time to extend school into the place called home. When we think of the balance we want in our own lives and in the lives of our children, might such a practice actually advance us all? What might students choose to do…with time?!
Related posts:
I find a number of amazing educators struggle with the concept/implementation of PBL (high-quality, transdisciplinary Project-Based Learning). I believe some of that struggle is related to habit. I believe some is related to saying, “I teach English” (or math, science, etc.), instead of “I teach children,” or “I lead learning.” If you teach, how do you answer, “What do you teach?”
Colleague @jgough sent me: The Cockroach Beatbox. YouTube’s version is below. Fascinating! Made me think we should facilitate more of this kind of work with students. Yet, I hope the students would be the scientists, not just the audience. I hope they could produce the equipment, animations, video.
Then, I read comments at Cockroach Beatbox; my brain sparked to invaluable discussion and debate possibilities, too.
Stewardship of resources, responsibility, empathy, work ethic. These characteristics are important, and I hear educators rightfully name them as essential skills. Why don’t we schools incorporate daily custodianship and campus care into our routines? I am sure some schools do, but many do not. Hour a day? Rotating chores for admin, students, faculty? Brooms, mops, hedge trimmers as another 1:1 idea?
“Susie is a fabulous student! However, she is so quiet. I wish she would speak up more in class.” How many times have I read, heard, written, and said such. “Educare,” though, the root of education, means to draw out. It’s 2012! Technology makes it even more possible to empower introverts to share their thinking in “alternatively audible” ways. Polling, quick writing, Google docs, backchanneling, etc. What if we scaffolded, not “scolded?” What if we empowered the introverts before trying to change them?
[83 words. Again, I embrace that failure. I will work to improve and succeed more in tomorrow’s post! Thanks for reading.]
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