Authentic Learning as a Vehicle for Change
isn’t it amazing
that an entire oak tree is sleeping in
the tiniest aquarium like the acorn we
must be fed
and nourished awakened and enlightened
to grow mature and find our way
when i meet my students parents in
september i ask what do you want for
your children
what do you want them to leave this
classroom knowing
thinking doing and being they offer
their sincere hopes
and i make a promise to do everything i
possibly can to guide their children on
the journey to fulfill these dreams
as educators that’s what we do our
intentions are pure and true
we envision the healthy oak tree making
its way from seed
to sapling and beyond but we encounter
obstacles
that often make it difficult for the
seeds to sprout
many students inner class the first day
of school with heads down
little energy and no motivation to begin
a new academic year
they’re sad they’re angry they are
disconnected they feel lost
yet we as teachers are expected to
trudge ahead with the curricular focus
adhering to prescribed guidelines and
timetables
knowing that this does not serve the
best interest of the children in our
charge
we must connect with them establish
trust
and foster genuine relationships in
order to provide what they really need
if we don’t we crush the hopes dreams
and possibilities of a bright future for
so many of our young people
at their earliest stages of growth
we cannot change the extenuating
circumstances our students face in their
lives outside of school
but we can and must think about what we
do
in school and how we can be part of the
solution
school systems around the globe struggle
to educate students in a way that will
produce
responsible empathetic resilient problem
solvers who enter the workforce and make
the world a better place
it’s what we all want but don’t achieve
the universal focus
is short-sighted and misaligned
where is the deep meaning in what we
offer our students
many times curriculum is delivered in
isolation
detached and unengaging intended to
prepare students
for testing but not relating to real
life in many classrooms little that
students are asked to do makes sense to
them
or connects them to something meaningful
they ask
why am i learning this and when the
content is far too difficult to
understand
they turn away from instruction the
teacher
and the academic institution they give
up
school is not for them our marginalized
populations are especially vulnerable to
this fate
we must focus on the purpose and process
of learning
and the content must connect the learner
to his world and to life beyond the
classroom
how do we unleash the potential of the
individual student
and get to the real learning
we can see what gets in the way
but what feeds the acorn
we should engage our students in ways
that ignite a passion for learning
that enable them to turn on and tune in
to life inside the classroom and out in
the world
authentic experiences lead to meaningful
learning
when there’s a desire to learn or a true
need to learn something
we’re motivated to learn it
presenting curriculum for a real life
purpose
just makes sense
why am i here what is my purpose
not only do students feel this way in
school many teachers do as well
helpless hopeless apathetic
helping students find their purpose is
necessary in promoting social and
emotional
growth eight-year-old abigail
had so much going on inside her she
needed an
outlet to express her internal struggles
during a writing session when we were
exploring the meaning of longing
abigail wrote these words and shared
them with her class
longing is me heartbroken it’s as if i’m
up in the sky and
my tears make rain i flood the world
my heart has a big hole in it and i do
not have a lot of good times to fill it
up
all my crying makes the hole bigger and
bigger i fall
and never get back up
in that moment of sharing abigail
realized
that others felt the same way that she
was not alone
her writing encouraged the rest of the
class to share
their personal stories of sorrow and
longing
we need to change our way of thinking
about teaching and learning
we need to inspire our students by
offering a meaningful path to learning
through real world contexts
creating an original opera is one way to
accomplish this
students spend an entire school year
making their own opera
this creation process serves as an
authentic vehicle to teach academic
social and emotional skills
students form a production company they
apply audition and work in jobs
equivalent to their adult counterparts
in the real world
to produce a collective goal the opera
students are the proprietors of their
learning
solving real life problems on a daily
basis they make decisions that affect
not only the opera process but they’re
learning for the rest of their lives
nothing is contrived or simulated
this is real life
abigail wrote about longing because it
was the theme of the opera
a theme determined by her class the
opera company
as they explored what was really
important to them as a group
there was so much loss in their lives
that year
around this theme they formed a bond
that enabled them to process
their feelings and experiences they
named themselves
fire starters kids opera company they
were the sparks of inspiration
that would unite and start a huge fire
to spread around the world
and ignite others in an effort to better
understand themselves from the inside
out
just as they themselves were doing their
original opera story
a storm inside illuminated
the struggles and triumphs from their
own storms in life
camilla was a performer in the opera
company who
like everyone else faced her own
internal storm
my storm inside
my head is burning i’m spinning around
lighting is burning me
two strings are pushing me
i don’t know which way to go
i try but i couldn’t understand
flowers are dying blue turns into gray
my heart has no reason
i’m feeling guilty trees are falling
no paradise i’m falling through the
skies
i am so alone i feel lucked out
first i got up then
i go down
my storm only mine
the mistakes i have done
are all over me
camila says my heart has no reason
going through daily social and emotional
experiences with fellow company members
helped camilla process her storm inside
and find her purpose for being
as a society we are devastated by the
growing number of children and teens who
are affected by school dropout
depression eating disorders drugs gangs
pregnancy and suicide
systemic racism and poverty societal
ills that significantly impact the human
condition
greatly contribute to this broken system
and to students
availability for learning
if we shift our thinking and how we
approach education
we will be taking preventative measures
to minimize the mental health crises and
societal ills
that manifest in our young people and
plague us as a society
we need to give our students the tools
and strategies needed
for mental health wellness these skills
cannot
be taught via textbook or curriculum
manual but must come from an authentic
classroom culture
where their application is required for
learning to happen
such skills give root to academic
achievement and allow students to
flourish
we’re often afraid of storms if storms
are necessary
storms present unique opportunities to
see the future
wind and rain toss turn and scatter the
seeds
the acorns that will one day become
giant
oak trees there is so much in our
students lives that they cannot control
we must give them the autonomy to drive
their own academic social and emotional
journey
there will be setbacks in life but
knowing
that they can control their attitude
their effort their perspective and their
approach to the difficulties they face
makes a difference in the kind of people
they will become
as adults
as we come to understand ourselves
better and recognize
the barriers that constrain us we begin
to understand others
as well we must help our students sow
the seeds that not
only benefit themselves but will also
serve the greater good
another class named themselves let it
out kids opera company
they realized there was so much going on
inside them that needed to come out in
order for them to grow
their opera story revealed that need and
what happens when we’re unable to
open up and let things out and the
result
when we finally do let it out
the other side of the campus
no one sees so turn it over
and see where it
[Music]
it out leads make it better it’s okay to
cry
and change circumstances show the other
side
the other side of the campus no one sees
so turn it over let it out and
see where it leads laying it out can
make it better
[Music]
[Music]
[Music]
[Music]
see
[Music]
this authentic learning experience
serves as a vehicle to problem solve in
real time
as you saw in the video when students
were confused in the song
performers and composers kept moving
forward and eventually found their
footing together so that the message
would be delivered through reflection
we learn about ourselves our sense of
confidence and courage build as we find
our place within the group
we belong
we learn to speak and write freely
expressing ourselves as we discover our
voices
we learn to make mistakes to fall down
to persevere and push beyond our failed
attempts and perceive limitations
knowing that making mistakes
and accepting imperfections is real
learning
we pick ourselves up and are ready for
what is to come next
we are resilient
what we don’t see in the video behind
the canvas is the entire company working
interdependently in their jobs with no
adult help to bring the story to life
nor do we see the hallway exhibition
highlighting students work over a nine
month period
to show their process of learning
but it doesn’t have to be opera
when learning comes to life and is
connected to real world experiences
students academic social and emotional
aptitudes integrate
naturally and logically in the context
of authentic work
no matter the vehicle we must inspire
curiosity
interest and passion in our students as
learners
when seven eight and nine-year-olds
convey profound messages that seem way
beyond their years
people listen for the first time
students can feel see and understand
a world beyond themselves
and empathy is born so
we open the world to our students and
give them access
through relevant veritable experiences
and they are transformed by being part
of something
bigger than themselves
these are the production managers final
words to her company
on the last day of school june 12 2015
manuela so today we say goodbye
for today is our last gathering as
harness the stars kids opera company
in the beginning we had a rare spark
that no other company had
our intelligence came together and took
us far beyond what we know
and finally we’ve landed in a land where
nothing is impossible
when we leave this class we will plant a
seed in someone else until we change the
world together
sooner or later ms mcginn will start
hearing that that ryan solved cancer
star stopped global warming and natanya
is reducing co2
ms mcginn will say these are my kids in
such proudness
we are expected to do good in the world
we need to show
who we are in fourth grade don’t let
negative thoughts collide you
but let positive thoughts change your
life
i leave you with this reflection by
tigast
a former student who is now 23 years old
thank you