A Passion for Dancing?

As I read through the "What Makes You Dance?" responses, I get this wonderful feeling. I hear words and phrases in my head like 'chart their own course,' common goals, invigorated, exhilarated, passionate, challenges, and working collaboratively, and I think - Wow! These people are talking about learning! On top of that, I 'get' to work with 'these people' who are more than just people. They are scientists, counselors, leaders, learners, teachers, mothers, librarians, mathematicians, and anything in between. But, best of all, they are all educators working together for a common goal to meet the needs of the students in our school and are doing it in a way where they can take student independence to a whole new level.

We are providing our students with the tools they will need to survive in the 21st century. Like Ms. Hammett said, some of us are learning alongside our students. How cool is it to walk into a classroom where there is a live feed of a frog that students are observing in class? Not only that, but the students were the ones who had the idea and set it up. And, furthermore, I know at least three places where SirLime is proudly showcased on a homepage of a teacher's social networking site. If you visit the froggycam, you can view the chat room where students have posted information about what frogs eat, how much they eat, and whether the food intake of SirLime is acceptable for his size and species. It is quite fascinating and is only one example of the many ways we are taking our passion for teaching and learning and providing our students with alternative ways to become independent thinkers.

It's so exciting! What have you been doing with students to promote this same type of learning?