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| Trading Pins from around the world is a big deal! |
I am headed home from five days at the Global Finals for
Destination Imagination and I have to say that although I have been in
education for over twenty years now, I have never seen anything quite like
it. In fact, until last year I didn’t even
know this world existed. The best
comparison I have for Globals is Mardi Gras in New Orleans….not for the debauchery,
but because when you tell stories about what happened, you will inevitably get
two types of reactions: If someone has
been there, they understand; if they haven’t, don’t bother trying to explain it
because they won’t believe you anyway.
We saw costumes that would rival anything you might see at Mardi Gras,
but one of the big differences is they were made by hand from kids all over the
world.
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| Some of the NISD students at the "Duct Tape" Ball |
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| This guy could fit in at Mardi Gras |
When I started this blog a couple of years ago, I entitled it
“Exploring Authentic Learning” because I believe that our students need as many
avenues as possible to get hands-on, real-world learning experiences as they go
through school. As educators, we have to
be intentional about planning for these types of activities to happe
n and I
believe in NISD, we do about as well as anyone, in finding ways for kids to
express and share all sorts of talents. In fact, while our group was gone,
approximately 1,000 students shared and displayed their work at our District’s
annual “Night of No Limits”. Where else do you see that many K-12 students come
together on one night to celebrate their learning?
As we make the trek home today, I can’t help but reflect on
what our team experienced this week. And when I say team, there are twenty-three
of us in a caravan (the team, parents, and siblings) driving from Knoxville,
Tennessee to our home in Newark, Texas. We
are all exhausted, maybe a little grumpy, but also feeling very fortunate to
have been supported by so many friends and family through prayers, thoughts,
and finances.
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| William and some friends from China |
The father in me is very proud of my son and his team, but
the professional educator in me cannot help but see the endless possibilities a
program such as this can provide for students around the world. As I mentioned, I didn’t really know much
about Destination Imagination two years ago.
For me, it was like countless other programs (and there are many other
good ones out there), but that all changed because of one teacher and one
parent. Two years ago at my kids’
elementary school, we had a teacher new to the campus that really pushed to try
and get the DI program going.
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| Hanging out with friends! |
She made
calls and sent letters to try and get a few parents interested. She held a parent meeting that was sparsley
attended, but she did what so many of educators talk about doing, she connected
with one parent and convinced him that it would be a great opportunity for our
students. We talk a lot in schools about
how we need our parents to volunteer and help, but often they do not know how,
or, gasp, they are not really as welcomed or encouraged as we would like to
believe we make them. One teacher didn’t
give up and for that, I am grateful. (On
a side note, many of the schools in our District have been competing for years
and I have had other teachers approach me in my role about expanding the
program. NISD sent over 100 teams to the Regional competition this year…duly
noted).
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| Tidwell Middle School |
So our little team started last year with one dad meeting
weekly with the kids in his garage (almost a prerequisite for sponsoring
DI). They built and rebuilt props, wrote
a script to solve what DI calls a “Technical Challenge”, designed costumes and
by the Spring they were ready to compete for the first time in the local
competition. Much to our delight, they
placed high enough to qualify for the State competition! This was exciting! You could tell they had caught the fever and
in an age when we struggle to get kids excited about school, competing in
problem solving and being successful is a great way to get them to stretch
their minds. At the State competition we
learned a lot last year. We learned that
working together and collaboration are essential to success, but the exciting
part is they walked away determined to do better next time!
Stepping away from the parent part for a moment, and going
back to my role as an educator, what happened next really excites me. At our school we went from one team, to
three. Okay, maybe that is meager
progress, but rather than 6 kids experiencing the process, we are up to 18
(including my daughters third grade team)!!
Who knows what next year will bring, but I am an advocate for more kids
and parents getting involved. Our own
team stayed together. Two members “graduated”
to middle school, and were replaced, but we also added two more coaches. One of the parents scheduled permitted her to
eat lunch with the kids once a week and work on “instant challenges”. Again,
parents working with students and the school to help provide dynamic learning
experience! In fact, my middle school
daughter now competes on a team in which the mom coaches SEVEN teams!!! You
might say we are hooked.
Recently, in a meeting with principals from our District, I
asked them to think about how their campus plans for ALL students to share,
reflect, and publish their work. This is
very important to authentic learning. We
should feel morally obligated to provide cultures in our buildings where
students have real-world experiences. If
we do not, how can we say we are preparing them for their future? Don’t “allow” it to happen, encourage and
foster a setting in the classroom and the campus where it “has” to happen.
This week was a wonderful experience for my son and his
team. One that they will never
forget. They reached their goal of
qualifying for Globals and they now have that fever again to come back and
compete against the best in the world. However, competing was just one fraction of
the learning experience. Our kids worked
to fundraise, they learned to write letters to both request and thank people
and businesses for funds, they even spoke at a Board of Directors meeting to receive
a grant to support their trip. All of
these life skills and experiences forced them to do things they would not have
learned any other way. While at the
competition, I watch in amazement as they interacted, bartered, and traded with
kids from all over the world. Who knows,
someday, one of them may end up negotiating with China over something much more
important than a decorated pin.
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| Lakeview Elementary |
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| Medlin Middle School |
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| Tidwell Middle School- Instant Challenge Champions |
As I mentioned, in NISD, we put an emphasis on authentic
learning. Our Academies at the high
school level provide all sorts of real-world experiences. Many of our schools have joined the “makers
space” movement to foster student creativity, and our teachers continue to
develop problem-based learning lessons for students. Our students build their own e-portfolios and
some even tell stories of using them to get jobs! My challenge for NISD
teachers and administrators, and really educators everywhere, is what can we do
to ensure that ALL of our students experience learning like the four teams from
NISD that competed at Globals this year? Or the STEM kids from NHS that built
rockets and competed with schools around the state? Or the robotics club at Clara
Love Elementary that qualified and competed at the state level. Truly, the list of opportunities and
successes in NISD is endless, but let’s not be satisfied until ALL students are
Ready for College, Ready for the Global Workplace, and Ready for Personal
Success.
This week was a wonderful experience for my son and his
team. One that they will never
forget. They reached their goal of
qualifying for Globals and they now have that fever again to come back and
compete against the best in the world. However, competing was just one fraction of
the learning experience. Our kids worked
to fundraise, they learned to write letters to both request and thank people
and businesses for funds, they even spoke at a Board of Directors meeting to receive
a grant to support their trip. All of
these life skills and experiences forced them to do things they would not have
learned any other way. While at the
competition, I watch in amazement as they interacted, bartered, and traded with
kids from all over the world. Who knows,
someday, one of them may end up negotiating with China over something much more
important than a decorated pin.
