The first thing that struck me was Ken Robinson's comment that so many people go through life thinking that they're not good at anything. It made me really sad, because we can all see that every day, in very young children at our schools. His comments on linearity and conformity make so much sense, and we touched on some of these ideas in our discussions today; we're doing a great disservice to our students by expecting them to all follow the same track to "success," and by pointing out at a very early age who is "ahead" and who is "behind." His challenge to move "from an industrial model to an agricultural model" makes so much sense, and I love the idea of "creating the conditions for people to flourish." This is what we're trying to do with PBL: provide them with opportunities and experiences that will empower them, and ignite a passion that makes them excited to learn. And when he pointed out all the resources and vast knowledge in his audience, that could be combined with great teaching to revolutionize education for our students, all I could think was, YES! Let's do it!
Our work in PBL is a step in the right direction towards this revolution. It's a struggle, for sure, because as Robinson points out, the system itself fights against this approach. We all have a variety of challenges/barriers to overcome, no matter what our school situations are...because at some point, someone much higher up has determined how we will measure success in our classrooms, with no knowledge of the unique individuals that are actually learning in there.
What this means for me is that I can't control what's happening on all levels of the education system. Yes, I can speak out and share what I'm doing...but I have a real opportunity to impact the little people that come into my room each day, as well as the other teachers with whom I work. My vision for a PBL classroom continues to be an environment that is exciting, empowering, and challenging for all of the students that I see each day. I don't want any kid to leave my room feeling like they're not good at anything...or not interested in anything. I want to create opportunities for them to care about what's happening in the world, to recognize what they do well, and to have the confidence to share and explore their ideas. I will probably mention my rising kindergartener a lot (sorry!), but these days, I think of her when I think of how I want my classroom to operate. Right now, she is excited about EVERYTHING. She wants to MAKE things, she wants to do things that help people, and she has zero hesitation about sharing her opinions about any topic under the sun. This is not because I'm being a STEM teacher at home; it's because she's 5, and so far, school has been a safe and encouraging place where she plays and makes discoveries all day long. I want to make sure that that doesn't change in any way. I also want to make sure that anyone else's precious baby that leaves my classroom feels that way as well.
I agree 100%! The excitement that your daughter has for learning speaks to my heart! The way we teach and our classroom environment should ignite this same excitement in all children everyday.....no matter how old they are. I think PBL will cultivate this type of enthusiasm and excitement for learning.
ReplyDeleteYour first paragraph is the reason I teach what I teach. Every child should have an opportunity to feel like they are good at something, and we do a terrible job of differentiating based on actual skill sets and not pre-determined standardized scores. Every person has something to offer, and it's time to allow students to find their own potential instead of cramming them in to a box with everyone else.
ReplyDeleteAshley,
ReplyDeleteI agree! I teach so many students who truly believe they are not good at anything, and it just breaks my heart! I truly feel that implementing PBL with fidelity will help those students, as well a all students, see that they have strengths that can outweigh their weaknesses and create success!
For some reason when Ken mentioned people going around thinking that they aren't good at anything, I was envisioning teachers with negative thoughts. There seems to be a lot of that, too. Either one is not good! But it stings a little more to think of kids feeling that way.
ReplyDeleteThe other line that got to me about how vulnerable our children are was when he said that we need to tread lightly on their dreams. If we can keep that in mind every day, if we can keep their dreams alive and help them believe in themselves - wouldn't that be wonderful!
Amen Ashley! I found myself nodding my head emphatically with every paragraph of this post. When I first watched the Robinson Ted Talk I had a similar reaction to you...understanding and agreeing and wanting the modern educational system to change for our students, but then I realized the same thing you did, that what will create big change across a system is the change I have influence over every day...my classroom. I loved your quote, "What this means for me is that I can't control what's happening on all levels of the education system. Yes, I can speak out and share what I'm doing...but I have a real opportunity to impact the little people that come into my room each day, as well as the other teachers with whom I work." I am very excited about seeing how you will be conduit for this change at Fairforest this year through pbl and I am very thankful that you have the opportunity to work with each grade level to impact multiple classrooms.
ReplyDeleteSincerely,
Dawn