Ch. 4 Reflection

I find an immediate connection to PBL learning when Laura states problem identification as one of the essential skills for social entrepreneurs. On the final day of the Furman PBL class, we generated a list of local issues (problems) that would make for a good PBL project. We all agreed that it would be powerful for students to create their own list of problems so that they have more agency and connection to the project. Prior to reading Laura’s comment, I would have said that it is easy to identify a problem and that it is extremely difficult to solve it, but I now realize that is not necessarily the case. Many of our students are, to a large extent, sheltered from the hardships and injustices that confront significant portions of the world population. I, too, am rarely witness to the plights of the disenfranchised; the difference, however, is that I have consumed enough secondhand information through reading to be able to identify a whole host of social, economic, and political problems. As an English teacher, one of my primary goals is to expose students to local and international issues that should incite them to outrage and action. The exposure part is relatively easy – I hand them an article from Mother Jones or The Atlantic or National Geographic and tell them they’ll be shocked; teaching students how to process that information and act on it is much more difficult and definitely one of the takeaway questions from chapter four.  

One of the answers is to help students find their passion. The “play, passion, purpose” mantra was cited several times in chapter four as the common element among all three social entrepreneurs. But to be honest, I do not know how to teach students to have a passion. Is it teachable or does it simply happen by chance? A passion is not going to develop unless a student is exposed to an issue. But here’s the key: in all three cases, the social innovator had a personal connection to the problem. Laura saw firsthand that inner city children were unable to swim; Syreeta created the SWT Life because she grew up in the same environment as the girls that her program targets; Zander’s initiation into sea turtle research started with a neighbor educating him about the deleterious effects of fireworks on sea turtles. To state it another way: I don’t think Zander would have become quite so passionate about sea turtles had he merely read an article about it in National Geographic; instead, he had to be personally invested in the  issue. Students are not going to take action unless they have a passion for their project, and it seems they are not going to find that passion unless it originates out of a life experience. And I think this is why PBL has such potential: students can use their life experiences as topics for research. I am reminded of a project that I gave my students last year in which I asked them to propose educational reforms for Eastside High School. Students were able to use their experiences as catalysts for suggestions for change. Exposure plus personal experience yields passion. I feel quite sure there are more variable to that equation but that is a start.

Syreeta made an interesting observation that stood out: “In high school, they tell you to work hard at what you’re bad at. But for me, it was so important to discover what I was good at and to find my passion.” Her statement is not unique to her school, and it is probably attributable to the fact that schools need students to achieve proficiency on standardized tests in all content areas. But I wonder if Syreeta is on to something when we devote so much time and resources trying to tutor students in subjects in which they struggle instead of harnessing their talents and creating opportunities for student to excel with their skills. I guess you could argue that this is the purpose of extracurricular activities, but I don’t think highlighting students’ talents would produce an overly one-dimensional student, especially since this is one of the many purposes of college – pursuing a limited field of study that you enjoy and are good at. Wagner also states of passion that it plays an even more important role in the lives of urban youth or disadvantaged students. It gives them a reason to go to school and to say no to the many things in their environment that prevent them from being successful. My real concern, though, is that in all too many cases, students use sports as their passion and reason for going to school. How do we tell students that a sport is no substitute for the skills that build actual careers?

The other big takeaway from chapter four was that teachers have to remove the stumbling blocks that have historically defined the traditional classroom. Two of the three featured students stated that school was an impediment to their learning, which is really shocking when you think about it. Having to sit in a seat and complete busy work are real challenges for creative students who have a desire to be active and challenged. Again, PBL solves for this in a number of ways: students are doing something, asking questions, creating a product, solving problems, etc.

As I wrap complete the museum exhibit PBL project, I am reminded of how important passion or interest is to any project. Many of my students have up to this point not enjoyed the project because they didn’t have an interest in art (even though they got to pick their work of art) or didn’t care for history. Despite that, students did take seriously recording their podcasts because they knew other students would be listening to them and didn’t want to be embarrassed. From this, I conclude that no PBL unit is going to capture every element for every student, but it seems that one of the eight criteria should ensure that students take seriously the project and potentially even enjoy it. And you don’t even need a passion for that.