Finding student passion

Planning with young people is messy. Planning with young people who are pre-programed to the bell, can be heart wrenching–we reach a peak, the smiles of learning are apparent, ah ha moments like lightning bolts all around, we as adults find ourselves laughing–yes–laughing–at “school” and they slip away after busily packing  into the river of a hallway. But they do not leave the project they planned/co-planned, they do not leave there hard won essential questions, they do not fail to argue the merits of that one .com via the wall in Mahara, that one “so good for the point they are making” when they know we do not use them in our projects–yes the validate the source, usually down to the Professor behind the site and I give in. They leave each other Diigo notes, they revamp their profile page with a new and even more socially relevant youtube video, they post to forums at 3am–about anti-genocide, and international woman’s rights.nbsp. They reflect again and again on their work, they take our courses conception of “failure” when it happens and turn it into learning, I cannot get over their candid writing, there growth, their insight and their hope.br /br /I work with these young people for one “class” at a time….I see so much more for the future, this type of learning is too powerful for four walls.

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