odd birds, different drummers and ah ha moments…

6 02 2008

Here is another sermon for the choir:
Last night it happened, its odd where things hit you; strangest places, strangest times. Last night i went bowling with some friends; we were catching up, laughing and having a great time. Like pretty much every bowling alley in the world there is an arcade in the corner.
I turned and saw a young girl really going for it on Dance Dance Revolution (or something like it). Now this is nothing earth shattering, the game isn’t new. Our conversation went on to talk about the good old days, “kids these days”, and how graphics in video games are getting to be soo good that people may actually want to go out and actually dance, ski, play hockey, etc. Laughter, more bowling then i looked back at the young girl - she did have very serious skills - i saw her through a different lens.
She stood upright somewhat tilted forward, face 4 inches from the screen, loud dance music aggressive pounding into her, the lights and colored bonuses flashing across the screen, and stepped back to watch her “dance” - it looked more like a seizure then anything i had seen before.
There it was, i had been re-smacked in the face with it: if you don’t see these people in our classrooms as different and adjust the way you teach them, there is simply no way you are going to get through to them. Showing number two of Growing Up Online was today, more teachers and another administrator in attendance - I will not stop. I really feel that this piece clearly and powerfully shows what i try to say over and over and over.
We may see the students in our rooms as being different, even odd at times but the skills that they are developing are also amazing and different. When we provide them with the opportunity to highlight these skills in the realm of education they will really blow your mind.