After reading the first chapter of Wagner, I am still perplexed as to how to create innovators. I feel like one of those people whose creativity was quenched and was forced to fit into a mold of good grades and doing what is right and acceptable so I do not feel completely equipped to foster innovation. As the mother of a two children, I have constantly wondered how to teach my children to change the world and at the same time keep them safe. It is a fine line that I walk while I also try to work full time and take care of the other duties of wife and caretaker. My children are smart and both qualify for gifted and talented programs. The are great gamers and even create their own videos of themselves and animated characters. I have had nothing to do with this other that I try to help them purchase the products to create these things. I also encourage them to play sports and get involved but I don't know very much about encouraging passion or creativity. I struggle with these areas as a parent and as a teacher.
Social Studies does not automatically lend itself to innovation when you are teaching something that happened in the past and that cannot be changed. Many of my students are the ones that live in poverty and have very little stability or encouragement other than what they get at school. As an educator, I struggle with these concepts especially when I am being measured by what my students can do and how do you measure creativity? I can see it but how do I put a number on it and how do I put that in a gradebook? I don't want to be boring but I haven't really been equipped with any tools not to be. I realize from Wagner that people must be adaptable and have the ability to communicate well. I can do these two things and I do have curiousity about why things happened and what motivated people to want to lead their people or die for them. How do I transfer that to teenagers?
I am anxious to read the section on social innovators and to see if maybe that is where I can fit in. It is very easy to talk about these ideas but it is complicated to implement them. I became a teacher because I wanted to make a change in the world and to be a motivator to my students. Even after many years in the classroom, I still want to do that but the struggle is real as my students say in how to do it. My hope is that Wagner will inspire me and these new units will help me see the reality.
I appreciated your comments. You bring up a lot for us to consider and explore. Knowledge is a commodity; thanks to technology, everyone has access to knowledge. Therefore, we have to help our students navigate the world through soft skills. These skills were always there, it just wasn't given the same focus as knowledge, information, and facts.
ReplyDeleteInnovation is not a thing or a program, it's a change in the way we think. PBL is not something extra for us to do alongside of everything else. It's not something that can be tagged to the end of an already jam packed day. PBL, in its truest form, must become the journey. I believe one reason so many of us struggle to embrace this approach is not because we don't want to...it's because we, ourselves, didn't experience school this way. It's a little awkward for us to let students explore, discover, and "play" at school.
In regards to social studies, I would invite you to think a little more globally. Think of PBL as the 4Cs of creativity, critical thinking, communication, and collaboration coupled with the 8 Essentials. Could you work to integrate more of the 4Cs into your lessons? Absolutely, I think we all could do more of this. While I do not know your specific content, I am certain that we could work together to create more inquiry and discovery in your lessons! As an educator who promotes innovation, we must strive to work for the "Yes!"
Thank you so much for your response because it does help me to continue to think about how to integrate PBL. Collaboration is my weakness and I want to integrate it and I will explore it more. I am more willing to take risks now that I was before I started thinking this way. I want my students to enjoy learning like I never have been able to before. I was never taught this way and I am nervous but I know that I can do it and I love the possibilities.
DeleteThank you so much for your response because it does help me to continue to think about how to integrate PBL. Collaboration is my weakness and I want to integrate it and I will explore it more. I am more willing to take risks now that I was before I started thinking this way. I want my students to enjoy learning like I never have been able to before. I was never taught this way and I am nervous but I know that I can do it and I love the possibilities.
DeleteSonja,
ReplyDeleteI think that you had everything to do with creating your Gifted children. I all starts with loving our children and spending time with them. We expose our children to the things we want to share with them. We guide them to do good with their lives. The things that we a have a passion about they usually want to follow the mother or the father. The more things that children are exposed to the more enlightened they become about life and how things work. I believe and so do the parents of Kirk. In Chapter 2 that is what they speak about.
Sonja,
ReplyDeleteI think that you had everything to do with creating your Gifted children. I all starts with loving our children and spending time with them. We expose our children to the things we want to share with them. We guide them to do good with their lives. The things that we a have a passion about they usually want to follow the mother or the father. The more things that children are exposed to the more enlightened they become about life and how things work. I believe and so do the parents of Kirk. In Chapter 2 that is what they speak about.
Sonja,
ReplyDeleteI think that you had everything to do with creating your Gifted children. I all starts with loving our children and spending time with them. We expose our children to the things we want to share with them. We guide them to do good with their lives. The things that we a have a passion about they usually want to follow the mother or the father. The more things that children are exposed to the more enlightened they become about life and how things work. I believe and so do the parents of Kirk. In Chapter 2 that is what they speak about.
Sonja,
ReplyDeleteI think that you had everything to do with creating your Gifted children. I all starts with loving our children and spending time with them. We expose our children to the things we want to share with them. We guide them to do good with their lives. The things that we a have a passion about they usually want to follow the mother or the father. The more things that children are exposed to the more enlightened they become about life and how things work. I believe and so do the parents of Kirk. In Chapter 2 that is what they speak about.