I started my morning really reflecting on what was going on in the world. Although it is a very scary time, there seems to be some peace that life has slowed down for many of us, well, maybe not for teachers. It is great that some families are able to spend additional quality time together making the most of this situation. For those that are essential workers in the health areas, we SO appreciate you!!
In the past few days, I have been able to see students do inquiry studies on their own. That is, they are able to dig deeper and learn more about the areas that they have a great passion for. Do not get me wrong, I understand the importance of the standards that we teach in the class. These are essential lessons to continue the growth in areas of math, reading, writing, social studies, science, STEM, and the arts. But, from my perspective, the past two months of school have been such a focus on a spring assessment that the joy of learning seems to have been lost in the art of education. "Education is not the learning of facts but the training of the mind to think" (Einstein, 1921). People learn best when they have a stake at what is being learned, that is, if a person has a passion for the area they are reading, writing, and researching, the mind will reflect more deeply on the information in front of them.
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