Interest: Fostering Authentic Learning
The Point:
We are each unique and amazing. When we feel comfortable exploring our world through the lens of our unique amazingness, we reap incredible developmental benefits. Perpetuating interest and inquiry in the classroom and school community can be a highly effective engagement strategy.
The Story:
For those who love to mow but feel restricted to lawns, take a lesson from my two-year-old son. The kid is a mowing fanatic. I teeter between confused and concerned when he insists that one of his two, state of the art, bubble blowing, noise making, colorful plastic lawn mowers goes with us – everywhere. Is this normal? Is this all right? I’ve consulted “Baby 911” to no avail. Alas, nothing about mower toting toddlers. We drag these things to the park, the mall, the zoo, birthday parties, doctors’ offices, etc. Today we had a late breakfast together at one of our favorite pancake joints (their Mickey Mouse is to die for. It actually has two tiny pancakes for eyes…awesome!). It was wonderful bonding time between the little guy, his lawn mower, and me.
As I watched him walk the streets of the downtown area, mowing concrete with every step, grinning from ear to ear, I began to see this phenomenon thorough a different lens. Maybe there’s nothing to be concerned or confused about at all. Here’s a tiny little person feeling free to explore his world in any way he wants. In fact, that freedom may be just the thing he needs. Could it be that his design will perpetuate maximum developmental benefits, along with the most individualized and holistic outcomes? Every passer-by smiled, winked, called out, “What a cutie…vroom-vroom,” or “Hey buddy, you missed a spot!” In no time at all, the spirit of the everywhere-mower came over me as well. One lady insisted, “But there’s no grass here.” In solidarity with, and defense of my unique son, I smiled and replied, “Now there isn’t.” The kid and I looked at one another, hi-fived, and proceeded with our important, albeit imaginary, task.
I see amazing teachers masterfully build classroom cultures in which students feel comfortable expressing the tenets of their unique paradigms as scaffolding for individual and collective learning. They perpetuate attitudes of acceptance, they celebrate collaboration, they revel in diversity of thought, and they tie instruction to learning through interest and inquiry. They guide, they support, they inform, they challenge, and they facilitate; all the while helping students make connected meaning of their school experiences through authentic and comfortable lenses.
Today, my little lawn mower man reminded me of how important it is to let kids be kids. While I had many great experiences as a young student, I was often remanded to the hallway for talking too much (and I may have occasionally been slightly silly at the wrong times). What if I was taught how to talk as it relates to literacy learning? What if I was given topics to debate? What if I was shown how to translate oral language into written language, then given practice and publication opportunities? What if, instead of a distraction, my deep and enduring love of my own voice was viewed as a pathway to learning for my peers and me?
Educators have difficult jobs that require intense amounts of preparation along with exhaustive time commitments. It seems pretty hard-core to suggest that we could be individualizing instructions to the point that each of our students would be guiding his/her own learning. The fact is, I’ve seen it done. Actually, I see it done all the time, and when I do, I see it work.
Tools and Strategies:
As an administrator I am constantly seeking pathways to shared learning for the faculty I serve. This year I will continue trying to find/implement strategies that recognize individual and collective interest and inquiry as important factors in the professional learning process. I know that a lot of the teachers I work with are already designing unique learning opportunities for themselves through social media and live professional networks, which they independently construct and nurture. I wonder if action research, Edcamp style PD sessions, and project based initiatives can help perpetuate the kind of culture that allows for folks to drag their analogous lawn mowers around as they learn and grow.
We also ate jelly with a fork…don’t tell my wife.
Dream Big. Work Hard. Be Well.