They're All Our Kids

I’ve been thinking a lot about what to call this new blog – I’ve been trying to capture something about my philosophy regarding teaching and learning in a single phrase.  Not an easy task considering the complexity of life in the world of education these days.  Some of the other working titles were things like “They’re Worth the Effort,”  or “Because We Should,” and “Simply the Right Thing to Do.”

These ideas surfaced for me as I reflected on the significant body of brain research telling us that our kids are neurologically different from previous generations, as I dug around in some of the mountain of data demonstrating that the nature of learning is evolving, as I pondered the immense selection of digital tools that help to make life easier and learning more engaging, and as I considered the fact that the world’s changing so rapidly that relying on what we’ve always done is falling pretty short of the mark in terms of preparing our students for life beyond the world of school.

But for me, what it all boils down to is the kids.  OUR kids.  MY kids. As I watch my two children, aged 13 and 15, navigate the world of school, and I listen to them talk with their friends about their experiences in classrooms-  what I’m left with is an overwhelming sense that all of our kids deserve the best we’ve got whenever we can give it to them.  There’s no way to dispute times are changing.  This isn’t a pendulum swing or a flavor-of-the week.   We are no longer in a position to predict what the world will look like in 10, 15, or 20 years.  But we do have the ability, and I would argue the responsibility, to work together as an educational community, to provide our students with every opportunity we can to nurture creative,  flexible, collaborative, successful, young people ready to take on whatever life throws their way.

It’s hard work.  We’re going to have to do it together, because THEY’RE ALL OUR KIDS.