How was your conference?
Great! Amazing! I'm going to change the world!
What was it again?
TED, you know the big event they do every year in Cali (sortof true) they host a smaller (cheaper!) version in columbus!
Oh, what's TED?
Therein lies the problem. How does one begin to describe the wonders that is TED. I know the standard schpeal of its a meeting where great thinkers get together, present 18 minute talks and inspire.
But that does not even begin to encompass what it feels like to be in that audience. The way it bends and twists and pulls at your brain until it just can't stretch anymore. The way it gives hope that one person can actually make a difference. I can do it. I can change the world.
One of my toddlers has a great shirt "I will make a difference" That gives me hope. It's true. We have no idea how far this next generation will go. And while they may not remember much if anything about their time spent in the toddler room with me, I hope to spark that inner fire in each child...that inner fire that will survive:
the monatony of teaching to the test (thanks no child left behind bullshit!)
the years of teenage angst and struggling to find yourself
the wonders and freedoms that are presented as you finish high school
the pressures and distractions that society presents along the way
That inner fire will smolder away until the child, now all grown, can return to it. Remembering their passions, their outrage, their uniqueness and use all of this to make a difference, to change the world.
So, who inspired me?
Teresa Long: Columbus Public Health Commissioner
a) because she had artists painting in the background...perfect visual for my lil ADD brain
b) 100% of children who don't know how to read by the end of 3rd grade go to jail. 100% 100% how clear cut of a statistic. How easy (in theory) to fix.
Now I know it's not that simple. I know the SES implications and family history and how that all ties in together to affect a child's education. But if we can give these kids who have so much against them the fighting chance- if we teach them to read, if we teach them to value reading and show them a glimpse of how far they can go if they only master this one skill. If we show them this future it can give them hope.
c) then she goes in to this concept of a healthy community...access to quality food stores, green spaces, neighbors who know each other
d) teaching the art of conflict resolution. If we equip these same children who live on the bubble, whose family history hints at the cycle of poverty and hopelessness. If we equip these children with the skills to resolve personal conflict. Not just to NOT participate in bullying, but to stand up to those who bully others. Teaching them to stand up when they see something wrong.
In my classroom (which is the antitheses of these children who live on the bubble) we are setting the stage for conflict resolution and community responsibility. We strive to create a community of children who look out for each other, who help each other, who are kind, who see a friend crying and ask why? then ask what they can do to help. Who stick up for a peer when they are getting hurt. Who don't just turn to an adult to solve their problems, but who try their own solutions and watch in amazement when they work.
e) And her recurring theme of Find what outrages you. Find what keeps you up at night. Use this passion to change the world.
Megan Jones: First Graduating Class from METRO high school
a) I wish my high school were this cool
b) I wish that at 19 I would have had the confidence to stand up and deliver an inspiring talk in front of hundreds of really smart people
c) I wish that I would have been able to pronounce all those chemistrical/biological terms she spoke about in her research project
d) I wish that I would have graduated high school with 47 ish credit hours
So METRO high school is a Science, Technology, Engineering and Math focused school. Yet, Megan's passions are much more art/social sciences focused (her major is history at OSU) Yet, in this day and age of teaching to the test, only focusing on benchmarks and only teaching what every student in the state of ohio must be learning on a given day, her school kindled her passion.
Because really, what do benchmarks really tell you about an individual...nothing. An individuals ideas are more telling of who they are and how they think that simple checkmarks on a test.
Curriculum needs to be dynamic, not static. Curriculum needs to begin at the interests of the students and classroom. It needs to challenge and inspire in these interest fields. Cause if a student is not interested in what they are learning, what is the point? They'll memorize the 'correct answer' for a test, but the information does not delve its way into their thinking.
beginning thoughts...more to come...
oh and check this out: The Myth of Charter Schools
