![I Want Kids To Know…]()
by Krissy.Venosdale | Jan 14, 2015 | Reflect
I want kids to know the nervousness of building a tall wobbly block tower and the despair when it topples.
I want kids to know what it’s like to have paint on your hands and arms and be so into painting that you just don’t even notice.
I want kids to know how that little part in your stomach drops when you raise your foot up to a higher branch or climb to the top rung on the slide.
I want kids to know how to lose track of time building a city out of cardboard. Then building a monster to tear it all down.
I want kids to know what it’s like to roll down a grassy hill and have green knees. And get a little itchy.
I want kids to know that feeling of trying to cut paper that’s too thick. And the scissors are so hard to move.
I want kids to know how a balloon makes hair stand up. I want them to know the feeling of wondering why.
I want kids to know what it’s like to jump in a puddle and have it be deeper than expected. And getting socks soaked.
I want kids to know that technology is not just about games. Apps and laptops and tablets and phones are about far more than badges and levels. Technology is also for creating. Creating virtual block towers and rotating them to develop a new way to build. Researching static electricity by watching a science video on YouTube. Taking a video of the way your hair stands on end when it’s charged, laughing, and sending it to your grandma to make her day. Checking the weather for optimum puddle jumping days or sharing a photograph with a friend who never sees much rain where he lives.
All of the things that make childhood fun? They are learning. No badge is required. Thinking, problem solving, pure play.
That’s what I want kids to know.
![Better Than Good]()
by Krissy.Venosdale | Jan 8, 2015 | Reflect
My journey through education has been filled with contrast. Urban, rural, tiny private, and now? Independent. I can only say one word about independent schools. Home. I’m grateful for the 11 years of experiences, twists, and turns that led me here, because each bit of it helped define what I believe about learning and what I believe about life.
It seems like almost every day now I read blog posts from teachers writing about quitting public education, fleeing the job they waited a whole life for, because education is just not was it could be. From a distance, I see two things happening. I see people shouting about STEAM and Maker education, and hands on, and getting inspired. I see people getting excited, energized, and READY for a revolution in learning. But I also see something else. I see the Common Core belt tightening. I see schools where teachers haven’t had the training or support to be teaching inquiry, project based learning, or any of that great stuff that Maker Ed and STEAM will require for success. I see the creativity of teachers being squelched all around the US. Squished. Smashed. Extinguished. To follow a pacing guide.
I see a bus with the wheels about to come off. And I see people fighting HARD to keep the wheels on. People working, struggling, striving. Doing things that would shock people outside the education world. Nobody really knows how hard teachers work. Nobody but people in education. Not the people who make laws for education or write standards or textbooks. They can say they love teachers, they support teachers, they GET the struggle. But, it’s impossible to understand.
The passion is being squeezed out like the water from a sponge. And the weight of the world is squeezing it.
Because there is nobody it matters more to than the people in the classrooms, fighting, hanging on.
After my own journey, the joy of finding a school home, and connecting with some awesome folks via Twitter who helped me out with Edugood for the past couple of years, we’re even more determined. There is SO much GOOD in education. It’s around us. And we’re going to share it. This weekend I’ll share more details about how YOU can get involved. All that’s required? An intention to see the good around you, and share it in some way.
We hope you’ll join us.
Because the good is there.
