Life has a way of circling back to you. The calendar has turned to May and it's open house time. I too have the opportunity to walk through the buildings and see how much have we grown up as a society. I too have the opportunity to see elementary classrooms and the products of children. I get to see from the inside how much pressure teachers put on themselves to show a million products of students' work and the worrisome faces of those few parents who have a child like me. The ones that look at the essays and realize it's their little girl who only writes three sentences or their little boy who didn't finish the all about me poster. And at times, I too have those children who realize their poster doesn't look as nice as the others.
There are times I've wondered why middle schools don't have open houses. Parents know less of what their children do their and there are more teachers involved. Then it dawned on me. The middle schools have figured it out. They don't celebrate children's sameness but rather children's diversity. There are different celebrations of children's strengths. Whether it be a music concert, poetry reading, art competition, or basketball game. Each child's strength is nurtured and allowed to breathe.
I wonder if we need to rethink our products in the elementary school. If we are all about learning, why is it that so many products need to be the same as every other child. If the learning target is to use descriptive vocabulary, maybe John, Janet, and Noel may choose to write an essay. Maybe Tommy, Julia, and Katrina write and perform a song. Maybe Aaron and Susana create a movie. And maybe, just maybe, my child narrates a Minecraft lets play video, describing all of the colors, images, and actions. The learning target would be accomplished, each child my succeed in their own strengths, and quite frankly, more of us could celebrate our children's wins.
My oldest is a middle school child now. I see how he grows, what he wants to share, and how he spends his time. He works hard at his work, but his passion for the last few months has been Geometry Dash. Not simply playing the game. That fascination went quickly by. It's been creating levels, developing challenges, collaborating with others to make the game better, answering forum questions, and interweaving music into the challenge. He has taken pride in others creating YouTube videos of his levels. Yes he does his math and his Spanish homework. Yes he spends time reading and writing essays, but it is here in the world of his own innovation he finds passion.
All children need at times to write the essay. All children at times need to make a drawing. All children need to accomplish the learning targets. We don't all need to write the essay at the same time or draw the same drawing as we accomplish the same learning target. It's time to open ourselves to the innovative possibilities children can create to accomplish their learning because in doing so, we will help them find their voice.
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