Learning. For Real.

My nephew, Constantinos, by the sea in Thessaloniki.
The following post was inspired by Kristen Swanson's post What Motivates You? (Probably not grades.) After I read the post, I immediately started writing a comment, but then I thought I should better write a post and build upon what I had just read that resonated with me. Kristen begins by asking herself why she writes and *SPOILER ALERT* answers by recognizing the value she gets through her peers and all the feedback on her writing. So then, she continues, why don't schools foster this type of commitment to learning in students?


Exactly! 


What we really need to do is make students' work meaningful by opening it up to the world and by applying real-life contexts to the classroom. Ideally, there would be no classroom, but that's another issue. I know students who started blogging on a class or club blog and liked it so much that they started their own blog. This is exactly what we need. To make every learning experience as real as it gets. The world does not have a grading system. There are no exams and re-sits. When there is real meaning in what we do, we care and feel responsible for our work. Why should our students be an exception? What are we waiting for? Let's get real!


Thank you, Kristen!


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