As in...where did I step today, and where will I go tomorrow?
It was one of those days where I went into it not really expecting much. Although I had the gala this past Saturday night that made me think about what I could do each day to make it memorable (with some incredibly amazing stories being shared, it made me hopeful that I could bottle a little bit of the magic that was being shared and open it a bit each day)....in the end, I did not walk into today expecting something extraordinary.
I suppose it started last Friday at our grade nine farewell, when a colleague and I discussed how the grade nines that were leaving were role models for students in the school. It dawned upon me that it was not just the grade nines.
So, I had another class that I teach work with students in a younger grade...and it made be stand up a bit and wonder how something as simple as playing can have a profound effect on students in both classes and the teachers that are involved. The very idea of "playing" seems like a monumental waste of time...but in a school where a ages range from very young to mid teen, having kids getting together and working for a bit and then singing, drawing and laughing is perhaps the greatest use of time that I can imagine!
The kids loved it! The young students look up to my students as guides, role models and someone whose footsteps that they can follow. What is more important than working with others across a wide age spectrum and teaching each other as they go along?
Perhaps growing out of this experience, I had another class which was very thought provoking. Armed only with a Van Der graaf Generator, I talked up water in the world and placed a typical bottle of water on top of the generator...the reason why we did so was based on agoogle search that briefly described by searching "Van Der Graaf" and "experiments". The question that students had was "Why?"
After powering it up and then pausing for a moment for three successive times. We watched as the lightning show that played across the water bottle sparkled and caused ooh's and aah's in the class.
I then grabbed the water bottle and was amazed by the amount of charge that was built up in the bottle. I was zapped multiple times as I discused what was happening...shocking!!
Well, as our discussion led to saltwater and freshwater on the Earth, it seemed natural to compare the tap water in the bottle with a quickly made saltwater solution....the resulting shocks and zaps that were present when we performed the experiment again was amazing! Higher, longer and very much visible by all in the class...and the stored charge was present longer with greater effect (again, my poor hands...how they were zapped!)
What did it teach me?
That the best lessons are those tha tare not planned...they are the ones that begin as a question. The discussion was relevant, inspiring and once the students got down to work, the students had a genuine interest to learn about the topic at hand (which happened to be water filtration). The students are encouraged to focus on a question and create an understanding of it by creating mind maps and collaborating with table mates.
I had a great day...it laid down a framwork where students can build upon their knowledge and participate in authentic play...I mean work.
Are they not the same thing?
I have some footsteps to follow in for tomorrow.
And that's the word.
