Igniting Awe in Learning

Write about your summer vacation. How many of you wrote on that topic, or something very similar, when you were in school? How many of you wrote about it many, many times? Honestly, I can't remember a first day of school that did not include a summer vacation activity. Now take a moment and ask yourself, what does this focus on summer vacation say about the culture of learning at your school, or in your classroom? More specifically: How does this make students feel who don't have awesome summer stories to share? What about those who depend on school for basic safety and needs like the free lunch program? Where is the joy of learning if everyone is counting down to leave school? Mark Church, co-author of Making Learning Visible , presented at Harvard's Project Zero four questions we must consider when looking at the learning transcript. These questions are critical if we are to empower all students to reach their genius potential.  As Ron Ritchhart,...

Unless you live under a rock, you probably heard about the solar eclipse that happened today.  Across the country people were standing outside with their ISO-certified glasses, or their pinhole cameras, or just looking at the shadows poking through the trees. Strangers became friendly outside office buildings as they showed off their homemade tools and warned each other about the dangers of staring at the sun. Children held their paper glasses tightly to their face, while gleefully pointing at the event as it unfolded in the sky. And yet, there were also plenty of students kept inside today. Many schools, fearful of becoming schools for the blind, kept students locked behind the safety of their classroom walls, resorting to NASA live feeds to simulate the experience. I'm not sure why, in public education, there is this fear of providing students with experiences. I spent the past ten years of my career promoting digital citizenship as an important curriculum component for all s...

Jordan inside the "Daydream v2" exhibit. On Sunday, my daughter and I attended the Wonderspaces exhibit in San Diego. It is described on their website as " a pop-up museum of extraordinary experiences." Each of these experiences was given their own space in which to reside so that each piece could speak its own voice, without the presence of the others. "The Last Word" exhibit As we explored the 16 unique experiences, Jordan and I experienced a range of emotional reactions to the art. In some, we were completely awestruck. In others, we were perplexed. At others, raw with emotions. And in some, we felt playful. "The Last Word," consisting of hundreds of pieces of rolled up paper, allowed participants to leave their "last word" to someone... a way to "recapture what was never uttered" ( website ).  This opportunity to peer into the soul of others silenced my mind, and opened my heart to the emotional plight of oth...

"When we're sort of infused with   either enthusiasm or awe or fondness or whatever,   it changes and alters our perception of things.   It changes what we see. It changes what we remember."  - Rob Legato, movie effects creator  from his Ted Talk " The Art of Creating Awe " Being introduced to the School Board Last week I started a new job. No longer in Educational or Information Technology, I am now the Executive Director of Innovation and Design for a K-6 school district. Leaving my former position, and district, was not a decision that I took lightly. And yet, it was an easy decision to make. Why? Because this new district is in pursuit of awe... of wow... of creating wonder and joy for students. It was evident in their five year plan published on their website. It was evident in the weekly videos produced showcasing students engaged in learning. It was evident in the questions they asked me during the interview process. It was evident in every co...