Group items tagged

"8. How do we tap into all learners' sense of agency, idealism and their social imaginations, i.e. their capacity to imagine the world, as it should be, and the tools and capacities to act?"

"Since this blog is called "Practical Theory," I think it is important sometimes to show the powerful, practical work that kids can do. This is a PSA made by SLA 11th graders for their English class. We need to always remember that kids care deeply about their world, and they are capable of sharing a vision of that world when we give them the tools and give them the chance. What if high school wasn't just preparation for real life? When we treat high school as real life, kids can do work like this:"

"After returning inspired and ready to change the world only to be thrust back into the invariable cycle of desks, worksheets, textbooks, and lockers, education's expectation for me hit me painfully hard. I realized that apparently my job is to shut up and study hard. If I'm so inclined, I can go out for a sport or join a club, but my schoolwork should trump all. I'm not supposed to contribute anything noteworthy to the world, but instead lay low and consume it until after I've graduated. Sure, adults applaud when we do something great outside of school."

"In an inquiry-based learning environment, this foundation is already there. In fact, consider how a few questions could fundamentally alter the way students use what they are learning: What can be done with what you're learning? How could this be used to improve the lives of others? How does this connect to your interests, passions, and other studies? How could this be used to enhance something you are doing or exploring elsewhere? Care. Happiness. Love. Passion. Respect. What an amazing opportunity we have every day to put these at the forefront of our mission. As the video above asks at the end, "Are [we] crazy enough?""

A great video demonstrating the "doing work that matters" thinking that I believe is so important for changing schools. Use in TiG courses to introduce what "doing work that matters" can look like.

Students everywhere reacted powerfully to this call to action, completing jaw-dropping quests to address problems in our world. These range from:

Building a library in a rural village in Ghana;
Raising money to build wells for communities without water;
Starting and scaling non-profit organizations to support issues in education, environment and other social causes; and
Creating innovative support mechanisms to help others in crisis.
Choose2Matter was created in response to this breathtaking reaction. It invites the world to make "mattering" a new way of life. This is not mere talk. This is the new standard where apathy and complacency are not tolerated and inaction is NOT an option.

DoSomething.org is the country's largest not-for-profit for young people and social change. We have 2.5 million members (and counting!) who kick ass on causes they care about. Bullying. Animal cruelty. Homelessness. Cancer. The list goes on. DoSomething.org spearheads national campaigns so 13- to 25-year-olds can make an impact - without ever needing money, an adult, or a car. Over 2.4 million people took action through DoSomething.org in 2012. Why? Because apathy sucks.

As Tony Wagner says in Creating Innovators, it's not a choice between structure and no structure to allow for more authentic learning. It's a choice to build a different structure for School 3.0 - one that allows for student-learners to explore their passions and real-world purposes while engaged in challenges that exist in the world and yearn to be defined and solved. Structures that empower learners to engage in more authentic learning flows.

A good video for showing students that they can develop projects that make a difference for others, too. That they can do work that matters.

A great spoken word poem that points out that there are gaps between what we can do with technology and what we are doing with technology. We can make powerful changes in the world using digital tools, but we aren't. Share this in the cause driven learning sessions I do.

Do Now is a weekly activity for students to engage and respond to current issues using social media tools like Twitter. Do Now aims to build civic engagement and digital literacy for young folks.