...so describes a senior in Hartford Connecticut, one of the poorest cities in one of the richest states in the country. This girl was failing. Years of doing poorly all but extinguished hope for her. She thought about quitting school. But school restructure, providing choice for students, gave a glimmer of hope for her, and she sees the possibilities of a good future now. She's taking PSEO classes at a community college, and states, "When I start seeing those As and Bs, my heart starts fluttering like butterflies."
Could there be any sweeter words spoken from a student in education? I'll speak metaphorically here. The butterfly has always been a symbol of rebirth and new life. The very hungry caterpillar turned into a beautiful butterfly, even after he ate tons of junk food and got a bellyache. When I think of butterflies, I think of metamorphosis and transformation. The insect is no longer anchored to a tree branch or a set of leaves; rather, it has the sky as the possibility. (If you're an Eastern monarch [like from Minnesota], you get a cool winter home in Mexico!)
What better metaphor for what we're trying to do here at Harriet Bishop, or, for that matter, what better metaphor for education in general? This girl nearly quit school. Now she's getting As and Bs, and her heart flutters like butterflies.
That's what I want for the students in this school and this district. To savor the taste of success; to build on that success and know that the future is as wide as the sky.
I want their hearts to flutter like butterflies.
Thursday, September 23, 2010
Thursday, September 9, 2010
Continuing the Learning Curve
I wish there were 36 hours in a day. Then maybe I could learn everything I needed to learn in a timely fashion. I'm sure our students think that, too, or maybe they don't. But I need to take a page from my students' playbooks when continuing my technological learning curve!
Today I joined Twitter, because...well, if I'm expecting my teachers and students to learn new things and keep up with the ever-changing world, I need to do the same. I want to keep current and fresh on research and news, and use that information to help me better serve my students, teachers and district. I'm not going to lie: it's a learning curve. In the matter of two weeks, I've jumped into the waters of a smart phone and the life of a Twitter account. It's daunting! But I think of my former students, and when they were asked to read the Fundamental Orders of Connecticut (yes, I asked them to read that paper), and I'm sure they felt the same way I am feeling now. The language is different, the flow is different, navigating through that information is different - just like navigating through Twitter and learning the language of a touchpad (does a touchpad have a language? I think so.). And like my students, I will get better and better the more I am immersed in this.
This is the future of education in this country, as it should be. Education cannot continue to be the "sit and git" it was for the last...200+ years (it has changed VERY little since the 1960s - and think about what computers looked like then!). Students need to connect all content areas to their very lives and the lives of those around them (and by that I mean the entire world, because the world is much smaller than it used to be). I stated this morning in a meeting that if students had I-Pads and smart phones in their hands to use as tools for their schoolwork, they'd be more apt to come to school. I mean it. Relevance is critical to all our students; however, some students can seek that relevance and others need to have it placed in front of them.
Where better to continue the learning curve than with the innovative use of technology in schools? With the adults for whom technology is not as second nature as it is to our children?
Today I joined Twitter, because...well, if I'm expecting my teachers and students to learn new things and keep up with the ever-changing world, I need to do the same. I want to keep current and fresh on research and news, and use that information to help me better serve my students, teachers and district. I'm not going to lie: it's a learning curve. In the matter of two weeks, I've jumped into the waters of a smart phone and the life of a Twitter account. It's daunting! But I think of my former students, and when they were asked to read the Fundamental Orders of Connecticut (yes, I asked them to read that paper), and I'm sure they felt the same way I am feeling now. The language is different, the flow is different, navigating through that information is different - just like navigating through Twitter and learning the language of a touchpad (does a touchpad have a language? I think so.). And like my students, I will get better and better the more I am immersed in this.
This is the future of education in this country, as it should be. Education cannot continue to be the "sit and git" it was for the last...200+ years (it has changed VERY little since the 1960s - and think about what computers looked like then!). Students need to connect all content areas to their very lives and the lives of those around them (and by that I mean the entire world, because the world is much smaller than it used to be). I stated this morning in a meeting that if students had I-Pads and smart phones in their hands to use as tools for their schoolwork, they'd be more apt to come to school. I mean it. Relevance is critical to all our students; however, some students can seek that relevance and others need to have it placed in front of them.
Where better to continue the learning curve than with the innovative use of technology in schools? With the adults for whom technology is not as second nature as it is to our children?
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