Anne,
I wholeheartedly agree that we need a new system in place that allows the children of our future to be exposed to the universe of possibility. To feeling like they really can make a difference and be part of their own destiny rather being told this is the path they have to follow and the rules they have to abide by in order to get there. I agree that the current educational system needs to change in order for us to create those new possibilities for our students and the future of a better education. I take it as a challenge to try to be a part of this change and feel that somewhat leads into the discussion in chapter four on being a contribution. What better what to be a contribution than to be part of the struggle to make a difference and a change in our current educational system? I for one know that there are educators out there who are making these contributions to making it better and I would love to be a part of that goal. Do I feel that students deserve to be given an A? YES!!! I think that simple change in their perception and the perception of those around them can and would make a huge difference in how they react and perform. They deserve to be given the opportunity to create without the fear of failure, to complete a challenging assignment as many times as it takes in order for them to "get it" so that they can move on, and to feel as though their thoughts and ideas do matter. Where would we be as a society if all we heard day in and day out that we were a failure and couldn't ever do anything right... It would be a very sad society indeed!
I wholeheartedly agree that we need a new system in place that allows the children of our future to be exposed to the universe of possibility. To feeling like they really can make a difference and be part of their own destiny rather being told this is the path they have to follow and the rules they have to abide by in order to get there. I agree that the current educational system needs to change in order for us to create those new possibilities for our students and the future of a better education. I take it as a challenge to try to be a part of this change and feel that somewhat leads into the discussion in chapter four on being a contribution. What better what to be a contribution than to be part of the struggle to make a difference and a change in our current educational system? I for one know that there are educators out there who are making these contributions to making it better and I would love to be a part of that goal. Do I feel that students deserve to be given an A? YES!!! I think that simple change in their perception and the perception of those around them can and would make a huge difference in how they react and perform. They deserve to be given the opportunity to create without the fear of failure, to complete a challenging assignment as many times as it takes in order for them to "get it" so that they can move on, and to feel as though their thoughts and ideas do matter. Where would we be as a society if all we heard day in and day out that we were a failure and couldn't ever do anything right... It would be a very sad society indeed!
Anne's original blog post:
Recently I had the opportunity to be introduced to the World of Warcraft during a class on Gaming Strategies and Motivation. My guides for the excursion into this alternate reality were my two youngest sons, Stephen and Andrew. We had some interesting adventures and I spent way more time than I thought I would in this strange land. Many of the quests would take hours and I would go to bed dreaming that I was running through a field, trying to find my corpse so I could bring my lifeless body back to life. I would leave my house in the morning and I started thinking of everything in my life as part of the game. Following the same road, noting landmarks along the way, entering the building where I work, walking down the corridor, opening doors like I was on some quest. As I read the book, "The Art of Possibility" by Rosamund and Benjamin Zander and came to the first chapter, it didn't take much to convince this reader that it is all created.
Who makes the rules anyway and what were they thinking? Seriously, if we never colored outside the lines, where would we be? If we define ourselves by our perceptions of what our administrators, legislators, students or their parents think of us; where would we be? Given the current state of affairs in education, I'd much rather step into a "universe of possibilities" where I can have some control over my perception of the reality. If teachers are going to inspire their students, they need to have some inspiration. Budget cuts, meetings, more reports, standardized testing, learning gains and AYP, do not count as inspiration. If we are going introduce our students to the world of possibilities, we need to make sure that we are acquainted with the terrain.
I would love to give my students an A and differentiate my instruction to better meet the needs of my students, but the system that I work in doesn't support that goal. It is wrong to tell a student to seize the universe of possibilities and invent his own path to success, when there is a big bad test at the end of the year that is going to determine whether he passes or fails. We simply need more options in our system to allow students more control over their future and the opportunity to experience the universe of possibility. We need to re-think the rules and create some new possibilities.
Who makes the rules anyway and what were they thinking? Seriously, if we never colored outside the lines, where would we be? If we define ourselves by our perceptions of what our administrators, legislators, students or their parents think of us; where would we be? Given the current state of affairs in education, I'd much rather step into a "universe of possibilities" where I can have some control over my perception of the reality. If teachers are going to inspire their students, they need to have some inspiration. Budget cuts, meetings, more reports, standardized testing, learning gains and AYP, do not count as inspiration. If we are going introduce our students to the world of possibilities, we need to make sure that we are acquainted with the terrain.
I would love to give my students an A and differentiate my instruction to better meet the needs of my students, but the system that I work in doesn't support that goal. It is wrong to tell a student to seize the universe of possibilities and invent his own path to success, when there is a big bad test at the end of the year that is going to determine whether he passes or fails. We simply need more options in our system to allow students more control over their future and the opportunity to experience the universe of possibility. We need to re-think the rules and create some new possibilities.
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