learning – Page 5 – iLearn Technology

Bloom’s Taxonomy Paint Palette

July 18, 2013July 18, 2013Kelly Tenkely6 Comments19923 views

An article I read this week had me thinking about Bloom’s Taxonomy and what learning really is. It led to me coming up with a new graphic for Bloom’s Taxonomy, this one a Paint Palette. I like thinking about Bloom’s in the form of an artist paint palette because each color has equal importance. For an artist, the greatest beauty comes in the mixing of colors. Using a multitude of shades and blends on a canvas. I think the same can be said of learning. Learning that tells you that you can only use one color is rather uninspired. But learning that encourages you to use all of the colors can create something really meaningful and beautiful.

At Anastasis, we encourage our students to look at learning through a variety of lenses and outcomes. Bloom’s Taxonomy helps us do that by showing students that there are different ways to approach learning. Now our biggest problem is that students will find that they really enjoy one way of showing what they know (iMovie) and proceed to use it for EVERYTHING. I created the Bloom’s Taxonomy Paint Palette with verbs that help describe the different ways of learning. I created a painting using the same colors from the palette to give students ideas for different outcomes and evidences of learning. I’m in the midst of working on an app and website catalog organized by the same colors so that students can be introduced to the many options they have for the different types of learning and producing. I’ll share that when it is finished! For now, I’ve included screen shots of the Bloom’s Taxonomy Paint Palette, the Bloom’s Taxonomy Painting and a sample page from the catalog.

Knowing Everything and Students with Names

July 18, 2013Kelly Tenkely5 Comments8636 views

This post is in response to a Newsweek article titled “What if You Could Learn Everything”

“Imagine every student has a tireless personal tutor, an artificially intelligent and inexhaustible companion that magically knows everything, knows the student, and helps her learn what she needs to know.”

Jose Ferreira, the CEO of Knewton, has made this artificially intelligent companion a reality for k-12 students. He has partnered with three curriculum companies including Pearson, MacMillan, and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt as part of his vision for making Knewton the adaptive learning tool that will make textbooks obsolete. This “adaptive learning will help each user find the exact right piece of content needed, in the exact right format, at the exact right time, based on previous patterns of use… Knewton, at base, is a recommendation engine but for learning. Rather than the set of all Web pages or all movies, the learning data set is, more or less, the universe of all facts. For example, a single piece of data in the engine might be the math fact that a Pythagorean triangle has sides in the ratio 3-4-5, and you can multiply those numbers by any whole number to get a new set of side lengths for this type of triangle.”

Knewton works as you might suspect, it begins with a test to see what a student already knows. Content is pulled in the form of reading and videos to teach the student the things that they do not know. This is similar to what many other “personalized” adaptive learning systems are doing. What makes Knewton stand apart is the way that the technology “reads” the student. As the student is learning, the technology is recording timing, confidence, tabulating each keystroke, and whether the student is guessing or taking their time to answer questions. So, the more that a student interacts with Knewton, the smarter it becomes and the better that the study recommendations get.

When I see technology like Knewton, it astounds me. I am always excited about technology that has the potential to improve learning and that feels seamless for humans to interact with. While the geek in me rejoices that someone is tackling a project this substantial to increase learning, the educator in me is disappointed. Knewton is all about knowing things. It is about facts. But, is it really worth all of the effort for technology to train humans to be computers? I mean, that is essentially what this is doing, no? We are creating a new factory model, this time the technology is programming us. Ironically, this is exactly what Knewton’s CEO is working to overcome.

Don’t get me wrong, there are things that are worth knowing. Important, foundational things that shape the rest of what we are able to do. But, who gets to determine what is foundational and essential for a student to know? As far as I’m concerned, most curriculum companies are already overreaching in what every single child MUST know. So, with the vast amount of knowledge available in the world, how do we determine what is really critical for us as a society to know? The rest of it, while interesting and important, is not necessarily worth forcing. Even the title of the article, “What if You Could Learn Everything?” makes me cringe. I don’t want to know everything. I don’t want to be so crammed full of facts that I can rock a game of Trivial Pursuit, but I can’t actually DO anything useful.

My bigger problem is that once again, we are introducing a tool into education that intends to personalize the learning experience for the student, and in doing so, strips away their humanity. You see that don’t you? This is turning children into computers and fact recallers.

But students have names. They have stories. Teachers have a different kind of urgency to make things better because we begin and end with students who have names. This goes beyond the altruistic, “wouldn’t it be great if education worked better” motivation of politicians and curriculum companies who have the ultimate goal of improving our rank in math and science. As a teacher, you deal in humanity. You are concerned with the life that is being shaped. You want kids to know that they are more than the collection of facts that they have memorized. The are unique and have something important to offer the world. That they matter. Humanity.

So, while I find the concept behind Knewton fascinating, it isn’t what I want for education. It may fill a need for a piece of the puzzle (namely the foundational knowledge piece), but it isn’t going to make education better if it becomes education. Being educated is more than just knowing facts (and I’ll remind you again that we already have computers for that). Being educated means that a child can make connections, synthesize, analyze, evaluate, apply, create something new. It is learning that is applied.

Technology will play a critical role in the evolution of the classroom. The role will be different from what Knewton offers. Instead of assuming that all kids need is facts, the technology will recognize and embrace the humanity. It will offer more than one way to learn, because while some kids will really enjoy sitting and reading, watching videos and taking an online multiple choice test, others will want to try out a concept through experimentation. They will want to build something new with their knowledge, or launch further investigation into a concept, or take a field trip and see the learning for themselves. Learning cannot be reduced to a computer. This changes the recommendation engine and relies heavily on skilled educators. This takes into account who a student really is and makes learning recommendations based on that. The recommendations aren’t relegated to a computer, they can be field trips, videos, apps, projects, activities, experiments, books, and anything else that can be used to learn. This is utilizing technology for personalization beyond pacing and content exposure to pass the next multiple choice test. This is empowering teachers to truly shape the learning experience for each student. This is recognizing that students should have a say in how and what they will learn. This is why I created the Learning Genome Project.

The Learning Genome Project recognizes that learning is more than just a collection of facts. It embraces humanity and rejects the idea that humans should be computers. It will be transformative because it works to make each student the best that they, individually, can be. It works to strengthen the WHOLE child, not just the fact reservoirs in the brain. It goes beyond remembering content and challenges students to do something with their knowledge. I can’t tell you how many students I have met that know their multiplication facts inside and out, but have no idea why finding area requires multiplication. Knowledge is useful when it can be applied. The Learning Genome Project urges students to go beyond knowing into the other, rich areas of learning. Blooms Taxonomy is a useful for thinking through what it means to learn. Knowledge and understanding are a portion of the learning, but so is the ability to analyze, evaluate, apply and create. Learning is multifaceted and alive. It can’t be so neatly all contained in this sort of adaptive learning technology. Education should utilize technology (I tend to believe this will be the Learning Genome Project) in order to reach the individual. It must reach outside of itself and meet that student with a name. It must be able to recognize a student’s need without demanding that the need be met with a predetermined question/answer set.

This post took me some days to think through and write. It spurred some new thinking for me. It made me go back through the Learning Genome Project wireframes to dig out any hidden corners that may harbor something that would strip the humanity. It caused me to think of a new Bloom’s Taxonomy image. I welcome your thoughts and comments!

Hat tip to @alexbitz for sending me this article!

**If you know an investor who might be interested in the Learning Genome Project, I’d love an introduction!

Camp Virtual by Common Sense Media

June 28, 2013Kelly Tenkely6 Comments14502 views

What it is: Summer time always seems to be a much-anticipated time for a little rest and relaxation. Over the years I’ve heard from hundreds of parents how much they enjoy the summer months with their kids…until they reach July. This is when the “I don’t know what to do” sets in and boredom can take over. Common Sense Media is here to help with those in-between moments when it is too hot to play outside and you prefer that they do something more meaningful than plop in front of the TV for a few hours. Send them to virtual camp! The virtual camp is a library of apps, games and websites that will help your kids retain all of the skills they built up over the school year and even build some new ones in anticipation of the new school year. Recommendations are broken up by age (2-17) and have been further divided by categories including: Outdoor Exploration, Scavenger Hunt, Arts and Crafts, Campfire Friends, Indoor Activities, and Talent Show. Each recommendation is rated with books. You are looking for 3 books for an engaging, exceptional learning activity!

How to integrate Camp Virtual by Common Sense Media into the classroom: Camp Virtual is a great way to keep kids learning throughout the summer. Parents will be extra appreciative of the recommendations for worth-while and safe places for their kids to play while they are at home. Each activity includes a learner rating and gives a great description of the activity as well as the learning that is tied to it.

Camp Virtual has a guide that can be downloaded and sent home with students at the end of the school year. Too late for that? Send a “hope you are having a wonderful summer” email with the guide and a link to the site.

When the weather is nice, I am a HUGE fan of kids getting out and enjoying experiential learning. However; I know that like all of us, they hit the point of no return when they are hot, tired, crabby and just need a change of activity in a cooler location. These recommendations of games and activities is a great reprieve for those moments!

Tips: I love that at the bottom of each page there are some recommendations for parents to continue the learning beyond the game or activity. Things like “Encourage kids to come up with as many different solutions as they can with each game. Ask them which solutions are most efficient.”

Are you using Camp Virtual? Share your experience in the comments below!

Soo Meta: Digital Storytelling Tool

April 10, 2013April 15, 2013Kelly TenkelyLeave a Comment2821 views

What it is: Soo Meta is an awesome new site that lets students build mixed media stories. Students can use this storytelling tool to collect, sort, edit and publish web content easily.

There are two options for login, with name/email/password or through Facebook. For students who don’t have their own email accounts, you can have them login using a temporary inbox like Tempinbox (just type in a word or words followed by @tempinbox.com and you are in business!).

After students have logged in, they will be asked to enter a title for their new story. Then, they can search for videos, pictures, sounds and text or copy and paste their links into a new story. Videos can be trimmed and edited, pictures resized and text edited.

Soo Meta is incredibly simple to use. Just search the web, choose content to remix and off you go! You can also simply drag and drop content from your computers desktop to create something new.

When finished, just publish the story and you can share it via link on Facebook or Twitter or you can embed the story like I did above. (I literally spent a grand total of 2 min creating this story!)

How to integrate Soo Meta into the classroom: Soo Meta is a fantastic online tool for digital storytelling. It makes the process incredibly easy and the possibilities are limited only to your student’s imagination.

With Soo Meta, students can compile research on any topic or subject and create their own digital “textbook” of the learning to share with other classmates or students around the world. I love that Soo Meta combines the research component with the creation piece. So often students want to skip right to creation…with Soo Meta the two are so interdependent, it would be impossible to do one without the other!

Teachers can use Soo Meta to create learning stories for their students. Pull together various videos, pictures and articles and mash them up for your students. Embed finished video stories on a classroom website or blog.

Older students can create interactive video stories for younger “buddy” students. They can solidify their own learning of history, math, science, geography, etc. by putting together learning opportunities for younger students.

The storytelling aspect of Soo Meta is fantastic! Students can do story re-tells, current event mashups, historical documentaries, political commentary, science discoveries, etc.

Tips: Don’t be discouraged if your students are too young to create their own Soo Meta stories, create your own mashups for them to enjoy!

I’ve been nominated for a Bammy Award for Educational Blogger. I’d appreciate your vote to help spread the word about iLearn Technology. Vote here. Thank you for your continued support!!

Leave a comment and tell us how you are using Soo Meta in your classroom.

Dance Lessons for Zombies: Redesigning the Report Card

March 5, 2013Kelly Tenkely5 Comments4369 views

|Kelly Tenkely|

One of the byproducts of starting your own model of education: the old systems constantly fall short. They start to feel forced, frustrating and tired. The hard part is that SOMETHING is needed, but what others have in place isn’t it.

So you start dreaming. You try to leave assumptions of what it “should” be like behind. You work to imagine something new and different. Something that fills the need in the right way.

It seems like every corner we turn we have to reinvent. Anastasis needs a way to organize and keep track of student information…easy! We will hunt down a student information system, there are a million to choose from! [This is the part where we hit a brick wall.] There may be a million student information systems to choose from, but none of them fits our needs. None is flexible enough to use the way we need to use it. They make assumptions based on a system that we aren’t a part of. So, we come up with our own solution. We mash-up tools that were never designed to do what we do with them. We make them bend to our will. Eventually, I’ll just create my own solution (The Learning Genome Project), and it will do just what we need it to because it was designed apart from the assumptions.

The most recent challenge: redesign the report card. This may seem like a simple task. It has been anything but simple! This has been going an ongoing challenge for us. We redesigned the learning experience from the ground up. We don’t give grades, at least not in the traditional sense. So then, how do you help parents come to understand everything that happens in the 8 hours that their children are with us every day? How do you show them the richness of learning, the uniqueness of their child, without reducing it to a score in a handful of “essential” areas? How do you change a culture who seeks validation that their child is “smart” based on a piece of paper that comes home four times a year? How do you help them really understand the difference in philosophy if the reporting looks the same?

This is a challenge because what makes us learners is so wonderfully complex. It isn’t only about math, reading, writing, science, social studies and art. At Anastasis, we are in the business of helping students “Stand Again” (the Greek translation of Anastasis), to become fully alive in who they are as unique individuals contributing to the fabric of the world. Our reporting has to reflect this. Obviously, your typical report card isn’t going to cut it. We’ve looked high and low for a ready-made solution. It doesn’t seem to exist.

On Wednesday mornings, we have a late-start for our students. This gives the staff great time to come together and tackle these daunting tasks. We talk often about all of the incredible things that we see in our learners every day. We wonder over the phenomena of parents just wanting to know what their grade would be…you know, if they had one. What they are really asking is: “is my child going to be okay? Are they going to do well in life?” The grade they are seeking doesn’t really answer those questions. As teachers we know that if a child is in an emotionally hard place, or doesn’t have the attitudes and habits of learning built up, they won’t perform to the fullest in math/reading/writing/science/social studies. It isn’t about them just knowing their math facts, they also have to have the spirit of risk-taking, the discernment to know which operation to apply to a problem, the perseverance to stick with a problem they don’t immediately know the answer to, etc. We want SO much more for children than for them to recite math facts by memory. We want them to be fully ALIVE as learners. We dreamed, we made list after list of what we want graduating students to look like. We drew pictures. We laughed (a lot). We got frustrated that it wasn’t simpler.

Over the last week, I’ve taken those notes, scribbles, drawings and lists and drew up a report card. It looks very little like any report card you’ve probably seen. It isn’t perfect. I suspect it will go through some evolution. Our main objective is to help communicate that we are teaching amazing, unique beings. In the center you will see my crude version of the Vitruvian Man. I love the blend of disciplines that daVinci revealed. There is a sort of perfection in the overlap…it looks a lot like life. We stuck with the Greek theme, and used ethos, pathos, mythos and logos to help us describe different parts of a child. In true Anastasis fashion, we made up our own Greek-inspired word, Pneumos, to show the creative force…the “life-breathed” spiritual aspect of a child. Below is our re-imagined report card. I’m still working on the second page that includes definitions of each word listed in our circle. In addition, we use standards-based-grading and a variety of rubrics. Our standards-based-grades are a little different (surprise!), our goal is forward progress through learning, standards gives us a framework for this to happen. We don’t stick within grade levels. Sometimes second grade students are ready for fifth grade standards. We say, “have at it!”

We are really working toward changing a culture. I like to think of it as dance lessons for zombies. As a culture we seemed to be immersed in systems. We take them for granted and let them dictate our every move. Systems can be good, they can bring order and rationality. But they can also stifle and keep us from really living. They can make us look a whole lot like zombies. We are working to make learning look more like life. We are working toward helping learners “stand again” in who they were created to be. To dance.

Digital Life: Video Killed the Radio Star

March 1, 2013Kelly Tenkely4 Comments2805 views

What it is: Being a child of this decade, I am LOVING @amyburvall‘s newest video to the tune of “Video Killed the Radio Star.” Brilliant. If you don’t know @amyburvall, you should. She is amazing and makes learning history so very enjoyable. The newest music video is all about Digital Life. A great one to kick off discussions with your class about digital life and clue them into what MTV used to be about in the pre “16 and Pregnant” days. How I long for those days to be back (at least as far as programming is concerned).

How to integrate Digital Life into the classroom: The Digital Life video is a fun way to start a discussion or inquiry into digital life. I don’t know about you, but the digital is becoming SO common that it tends to blend right into the background and we take it for granted. This is an important discussion with students because most of them have never known a life without idevices and smartphones that instantly connect them to the world. This “invisible” tech can be problematic. Kids can take it so for granted that they don’t see the separation between their digital life and their real life. Not everything needs to live online forever (how many duck faced pictures can a person have?). That break-up that happened in 8th grade is probably not the footprint kids want to leave for future employers.

When we talk with students about digital life at Anastasis, we make sure to highlight the following: EVERYONE has access to things posted online- even when you think it is private; deleted from Facebook or Instagram doesn’t always equate to being gone-it can always be resurrected (screenshots are killers); disrespecting others online is bullying-period; there is no sarcasm font- choose your words carefully; emoticons can’t capture every emotion-sometimes conversations are best had f2f (that’s face to face); words can be damaging and lasting-don’t be a bully; cherish your relationships off-line-take time to be away from the connected world.

Tips: If you haven’t seen @amyburvall history videos, go now. You can thank me later. 🙂

Leave a comment and tell us how you are using Digital Life in your classroom.

Popcorn Maker: Mashup video with images, articles, text, maps, etc.

January 23, 2013Kelly Tenkely2 Comments5207 views

What it is: Popcorn Maker is a super cool site that I learned about from Michael Zimmer’s blog, The Pursuit of Technology Integration Happiness. Popcorn Maker is an online video mashup tool that makes it easy to integrate several different forms of online media into a video. A clip from YouTube can be enhanced with article clips, images, text, audio, maps, other live feeds and social media content. Add some “bling” to any video clip…interactive is better! Videos can be mashed without logging in. Creating a user profile let’s you save and share the finished project.

How to integrate Popcorn Maker into the classroom: Popcorn Maker is a great way to enhance videos. Teachers can use Popcorn Maker to mashup media for students to engage with. This could be adding a map to an historical video so that students can better visualize where an event is taking place, adding a wikipedia article to expand on an idea that a video touches on, adding a live social media feed with student comments as a “backchannel” video, etc. This type of use is great for expanding on Kahn academy type instructional videos (which can be a bit boring/dry), educational videos, etc. Wouldn’t it be great to have a real-life example pop up during a Kahn academy instructional video? Students can connect number sense and computation. (What a novel concept!) For young students, create a video with embedded directions (audio or text) and next steps for learning. This would make for a great learning center for completing a science experiment, multi-step directions, or next steps of learning.

Students can use Popcorn Maker to enhance videos that they have created, to further expand on an idea, to help explain a researched topic to the rest of the class, or to share reflections on a video with others. Because students can add text, it is easy for them to add their “blogged” reflections directly in a video to be shared with others. So often our students start their research with a video search. Ask them to create a mashup of all of their research using Popcorn Maker. This will help them to dig beyond the video for other relevant content that adds to their understanding.

In the “flipped” classroom, Popcorn Maker takes the videos to the next level. Popcorn Maker could be a great way to help apprentice students in the art of learning. Students can see the way that connections are made among different media types and are led through how to think and expand on an interesting topic. After students have viewed a few mashups, ask them to create their own. This could be really helpful in discovering misunderstandings in learning, gaps in the way research is being completed, or difficulties in making connections.

Tips: The tutorial on the first page is really useful. I recommend it before beginning a project!

Leave a comment and tell us how you are using Popcorn Maker in your classroom.

Unitag: Custom QR Code Generator

December 6, 2012Kelly Tenkely4 Comments9112 views

What it is: QR codes are becoming more and more prevalent in education and everywhere else (advertisements, TV, your bag of chips, soda, etc.). These codes are easy to make and can lead to some fun learning opportunities. Unitag is a QR code generator that lets you customize the look of the QR code. First, choose a type of QR code to generate. This can be a weblink, text, a business card, an email, a geolocation, a text message, a phone number, a calendar date, a wifi network, or a mobile page. Next, you can customize the QR code with pre-made templates, personalized color palette, a special look, a logo or picture, “eye” colors, and more. When you are finished, the QR code can be downloaded or shared on Twitter, Facebook or Pinterest. This process could take seconds (it is SO fast to create) or several minutes depending on how fancy you like to get with your customizations.

How to integrate Unitag into the classroom: So, what in the heck can you use those codes for? A lot! Use Unitag to create customized codes for back to school night; instead of sending parents with stacks of papers, offer a QR code by the door where they can snap a picture that takes them to your expectations/important dates/syllabus/special projects. Include QR codes next to parent teacher conference signups so that parents can instantly upload the date to the calendar on their phone. A QR code linked to your business card helps parents and students know what office hours you keep and how to keep in touch.

For older students (who have a phone) offer QR codes to help them remember important dates, homework, special projects, etc. This could be posted next to the door so that on their way in or out they can instantly snap a picture and have all of the upcoming assignments in their calendar.

QR codes can be used by students to create choose your own adventure type stories. The codes can link to different twists and turns within the story. This would be fantastic for student created fiction but could also make a really cool book report. Students could write one version summarizing the story as it was, a QR code could lead to an alternate ending that they created themselves.

When studying history, QR codes could be used to show different angles of the same event, different outcomes depending on population…and how cool would it be if those QR codes were included on a map where the events took place?! Students can link the QR codes to different views of the same event. For example, one from the viewpoint of explorer Christopher Columbus and another from the point of view of Native Americans. A QR code classroom timeline would also be very neat. Students can create reports/content that is linked to a QR code that gets placed on a giant timeline. Customize the code with images that are related to the event or colors that represent the event in some way.

Create a bulletin board with a map of the world. Place QR codes over different places for an interactive board. Students can use the QR codes to reveal the name/capital/key features of the place.

Have a secret clue or math problem each day that students can reveal using a QR code. It sounds so simple, but honestly, students love the mystery and hidden challenge!

In science, QR codes can be used at different stations to reveal the steps that students should follow for an experiment. How about a periodic table of QR codes that reveal what each element does or a video that shows the element in action?

At the beginning of last year, we created a school wide school scavenger hunt that used QR codes to help students learn where different classrooms/resources could be found. It was great fun!

Anytime you have a center activity, include a QR code that links to instructions, supplementary videos or websites. This saves students from having to spend learning time typing in URLs or looking for directions that the last group wrote on or piled things on (or does that only happen to us?).

Do your students create a LOT of digital work like ours do? One of the challenges we face at Anastasis is the lack of worksheets going home. I know…it doesn’t seem like that would be a challenge, but it is. Parents aren’t quite sure where to look for their child’s work since it is all digital. QR codes could go home in lieu of a Friday folder that link to student work.

This time of year, it would be really neat to create a QR code advent calendar where students reveal some new piece of learning every day.

Tips: I hope that your mind is racing with the possibilities these little codes offer. There is something to the mystery of them that appeals to students, they are like unveiling a surprise. Don’t keep all the fun of creating them to yourself, students can easily create these and use them within their work. I honestly can’t think of a subject or discipline that these wouldn’t be useful in.

Art: Share some art history or steps to an art project through a QR code.

Foreign Language: Create a word bank wall that has QR codes that reveal the translation of the word.

Geography: Create a map with QR codes that reveals additional information about the place.

Government: QR codes that lead students to political cartoons and related learning.

History: Exploring multiple points of view within a historical event.

Language Arts: Choose your own adventure story creation.

Math: Problem of the day. Multiple methods for solving a problem. Instructions for a math center activity.

Music: An exploration of world music through QR code link/videos.

PE: Links to examples of different exercises/warm ups.

Phonics: Video library of phonemes through QR code.

Science: Periodic table of QR codes with links to element information or videos.

Apps for scanning QR Codes: QR Reader, Qrafter, QR Scanner, Scan, Red Laser, Quick Scan Pro, Quick Scan, ATT code scanner. There are hundreds of these, search your app store for “QR code” and find the one that best fits your needs and device.

Leave a comment and tell us how you are using Unitag in your classroom.

12 Days of Dreaming #12DOD

December 3, 2012Kelly TenkelyLeave a Comment2248 views

I love this time of year. Everything seems so full of possibility and optimism. @Mr_Brett_Clark took hold of that feeling and started Education Dreamer: 12 Days of Dreaming. Today was the big launch! From Brett: “There is no greater time than now to share our dreams for education. Everything great that has ever happened, started as a dream.
Education Dreamer will post a new post on Monday through Thursday the first three weeks of December beginning December 3rd.
You can support this project by sharing out the post using #12DOD, adding a badge to your website, and leaving comments.”

I fully support this 12 days of dreaming and added my own dreams which were posted on day number one. Lucky me!

Follow along, dream with your fellow educators and be inspired to make those dreams a reality!

My contribution is called: Dreaming of a Better Education. Click the link to have a read.

Thank you for including me Brett! Happy Everything 🙂

Shocking! The real purpose of your life! or What are we preparing for?

November 26, 2012Kelly Tenkely4 Comments16448 views

Today @lancefinkbeiner shared this video with me. It is too good not to share! Now…how to make this the reality of what learning is really about in schools. I can’t tell you how often in education that the answer for why something is done is, “we are preparing kids for…” For example, we give 3 hours of homework to elementary students because we are “preparing them for middle school.” In middle school we give additional homework and weekly tests because we are “preparing them for high school.” High school has it’s own set of ridiculous standards in preparation for college.

My question: when are we preparing kids for life? When are we preparing them to engage in the world around them? When are we preparing them for healthy relationships with others? When are we preparing them to ask good questions and seek answers? When are we preparing them for what to do with failure?

The problem for preparing kids for the next system they will encounter is that the next system isn’t really the goal. That goal is this imaginary place we call “success” and “perfection”. Neither exist. How do we prepare kids to live honest, meaningful lives? THAT is what I am interested in preparing for.