Thing 5
I have often told people that Woodward has a gifted program all day long, but lately I am concerned that this is not the case. The blog, about the gifted girl, name Georgia, being thwarted in her attempts to create a meaningful learning experience for herself made me reflect, “Am I creating an environment where children have a meaningful learning experience?” I also reflected on an earlier blog about stifling young Leonardo’s. Does a college preparatory school need to teach content, do we need to teach skills, do we need to teach problem solving skills, communication skills, technology skills, foreign language, an appreciation of literature, the arts, and music, social skills, and understanding of history, health, and responsible global governorship. Is there a place and a time in the student’s 13 years here to get this all in and yet let them be creative? let them have ownership of their learning? can we trust them to own their learning? If less is more can these myriad topics be right for our children? But it is a complicated world what is the right path? Sheesh! My head hurts.
http://wanderingink.wordpress.com/2007/05/23/how-to-prevent-another-leonardo-da-vinci/
http://www.techlearning.com/blog/2008/02/because_i_said_no.php
Wow! My head is hurting, too! I think that all your questions are valid. I think that, campus wide, the faculty does address these the learning skills of the student but on and individual basis. Most of the faculty know the students and how each individual best learns. From early on in their education, we teach the student to take reponsibility for their education….it begins with doing their homework, bringing in assignments, being prepared for class. By the time that the student reaches high school, they are encouraged to facilitate their own learning with some guidance by the teacher. Now, whether the student is internally motivated to excell and achieve and take ownership of their learning is another issue. “You can lead a horse to water, but can’t make him drink”.
I think that good teachers continually ask the question: “Am I creating an environment where children have a meaningful learning experience?” Just the fact that you are thinking about this shows your dedication to your students. This is something I think about quite a bit. It is a lot to think about…and now my head is starting to ache. Ha!
I think that if we, as teachers, feel energized, motivated, and passionate about what we’re doing – then, we’re on the right path. That energy is so contagious! The kids start to learn, not to prepare for a test or a quiz…but because they want to share in the excitement. Of course…there are always days when that doesn’t happen, but I live for the days that it does!