Edu Change & Student Advocacy

     Since the advent of formal education, many students have questioned the validity or relevance of the work they are doing. The question of “when am I going to use this?” has been launched at most veteran teachers countless times. Indeed, making learning more “real” has long been a goal of those who have promoted everything from project-based learning to career technical education. Both learners and learning facilitators want learning where the ‘why’ is an integral part of the process. It’s this desire to be “real” that has now found its way into our vernacular as AUTHENTICITY . Authentic learning can be the guide to not only make learning more real, but also more maximized and optimal for all learners. In a world where authenticity is often elusive in everything from our food to our entertainment, we are now holding our teaching and learning to a new standard of authenticity. Project-based learning practitioners, as well as those truly working on a more 21st century, ...

     Ever since I began teaching 28 years ago, I have always been interested in student voice and ownership. Maybe it was because my bachelor’s degree was in journalism and my initial career was media. Maybe it’s because I never felt like neither I, nor my peers, ever had as much say in our education and learning as I think we could have or should have. Maybe it’s because I think finding one’s voice and the leadership required to take action on that voice are the hallmarks of real learning and self-actualization. Regardless, I’ve seen the power, over and over, of students when they are engaged in pursuing work they have chosen or helped create (voice, choice) and are willing to take responsibility for (ownership).      Throughout my collective experiences as a teacher, advisor and site leader, I have consistently witnessed students producing amazing, powerful, relevant and impactful work when given the opportunity and support. One of those experiences that ...

     Ever since I started teaching in 1990, I have been a student voice advocate. Whether it was as a media/English teacher, student leadership advisor or a site leader. I have always believed that students not only have good ideas, but that they may just have new, unique or even better ones. In an effort to find their own voice and place in the world, they may see things that we don’t see or have long been paralyzed to do anything about. In 1999, I saw students address a school’s racial divide and cultural issues by creating a school-wide learning experience (see Harmony at Buchanan High School in this article from USC Rossier's online masters in teaching program).      Ever since then, I have believed that projects with real-world outcomes hold some of the greatest potential for helping students become driven, empathetic and engaged citizens. The outpouring of student voice in the wake of the recent tragedy in Parkland, Florida, is a great example. ...