My goals for this school year can be wrapped up in a package with a bow and a card that says "Empower".
I was watching the TEDxYouth video Why Kids Hate School featuring Nikhil Goyal and it hit me. Everything I want to do with and for my students this year revolves around the word "Empower". Empowering them to learn and engage in their own learning like they haven't in the past. I don't want them to mark time until they get out at the end of the day or, heaven forbid, wait until they graduate to find joy in learning. I want to spark that inquisitiveness that they have when playing with a new app. What if...? What is ...? How does...? Where did...? Can I...?
Empowering students "to learn" in a way that connects with them is my goal this year. I'm not saying that class will be a free for all with students running around doing whatever they want. I mean that the classroom will be a place where students are presented with information to learn, but in a way that they can connect with at different levels and in different ways. Let's face it, students don't just walk in our room at the same level, same life experiences and interests. Teaching would be simple if they did, but they don't. So we need to engage them in a way that makes sense to them. Is it always the teachers responsibility to come up with the individual projects that will engage each student or can one project be engaging to multiple students in different ways? Can that one project be presented to students in the same way and, yet, be completed in ways that make sense to the student, have the same learning outcomes and look completely different in the end? I believe that it is possible. It happens in business everyday.
This year, I want my students to feel empowered to own their learning. To feel that learning is something they do and not wait until it is done to them. Let's face it. Students won't learn unless they learn. It isn't a matter of, "Oh, I've seen this before. Show me how to do it, again." That's not learning, but students believe that it is learning. Somewhere they have learned that just being presented with information, seeing it before and handing in the worksheet equates to learning. If that happened with riding a bike, where would we be? Having to continuously teach our children how to ride a bike. Learning is deeper than just seeing it. Just like riding a bike, it becomes part of you and you know it or can trigger a way to get to it. We have done our students a disservice by allowing them to think they have learned, when all they have done is see and mimic. I want them to be empowered to actually take ownership and pride in internalizing and actually learning in my classroom.
The ideas I have for class this year revolve around giving students back that ownership and allowing them to be more involved in their learning. There are so many apps and resources out there for teachers to use. I have been trying to keep myself focused on what is truly going to get me to that point of "Empowering" my students and weed out the things that don't contribute to that goal. Many times, the possibilities that exist are overwhelming. I wonder if I will be able to keep myself focused, knowing that less is more.
That is where my PLN will come into play, as the year progresses. Keeping in contact with them and having them keep me accountable to my goal and my students. I know they are there to lend a suggestion or a hand when needed. I wouldn't be able to make this journey without them!
