A friend and blogger extraordinaire, Nancy Flanagan, just invited me to post an image for an education Passion Quilt. This should be an image that evokes emotion and passion for teaching in me. See her blog posting and explanation at http://teacherleaders.typepad.com/teacher_in_a_strange_land/This picture is my passion image.
Learning in action . . . that's what this represents.
Kids who tackled a real problem and came up with a real solution. Then they carried it out with a passion.
Kids who looked at the environmental mess made by the construction of the new school they were attending and built a weir and a wetland to make it better.
It wasn't part of the science course of study.
It didn't help them prepare for The Test.
It wasn't part of the aligned curriculum.
This was real. It had a real purpose. It accomplished something good for the school and for these students. They left eighth grade that year feeling good about themselves and their science work.
If you have a blog, would you also add to the Passion Quilt?
1 comment:
As a long-time 8th grade teacher myself, one of my strongest beliefs about middle schools kids is that we don't give them *real* things to do (beyond--ironically--child care, which is seriously undervalued work).
Your image warms my heart, but does not surprise me. The very best experiences I have had in teaching have been when I turned to my students and asked "What could we do about ___________?"
Thanks for playing, Anne!
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