I was reminded of that lesson today at school.
It is time for us to begin science this semester in our classroom. Our first module is on motion and force. We wanted to do a little experiment to see what the effect of force was on toy cars that were running down an incline. It had been my hope to bring things from home that the kids could make ramps out of. It's been a crazy week and when I got to school this morning, I realized I had brought nothing from home for them to use.
What could I do?
I decided to tell the kids that they had to scour the classroom to look for anything they could find which they could use to build their ramps. I wasn't sure what they would come up with. My only directions were to not take anything that belonged to me personally but the rest was up for grabs.
It was sweet to hear a little voice say something about the framed snowflake I have in my room.
"Ok guys, remember no one gets to use the snowflake that Mrs. Renfro's father made when he was our age. That's personal."
And so they were off.
They had a time limit of 25 minutes in which to hunt up the materials they would use and then make their ramps. After the ramps were made, they were to use the toy cars that kids had brought to see what would happen. What kinds of surfaces and inclines would make the best ramp? Would a car go faster down the incline if someone pushed it or if it was left to go on its own accord?
I couldn't believe the way that they gathered stuff up. They were as busy as could be, going throughout the room and pulling things off the shelves and tables that would be good materials for them to use. Library books, crates, tissue boxes, tape dispensers, rulers, an old packing box, and a gazillion other things were strewn about the room. No one was fighting about who got what. They made it work and I was so happy.
I listened to them (something I need to do more often) as they worked within their small groups. By the sounds of their conversation, I could tell one thing for sure.
Learning was happening and not one bit of it was coming from inside of a book or out of their teacher's mouth. It was generated from a place far better than some text book would ever be. It came from their minds, their thinking caps. I should be doing this kind of thing way more regularly than I do.
It seems very strange to admit it, but after nearly 40 years of being in the classroom, I have never taught science before. My experience as a third grader with science was a dismal one. I really didn't like it and the truth be told, I'm not sure why that was. Perhaps I could not connect what I was learning to anything I would need to know in real life. I struggled through it to receive a passing grade, but just barely.
I am a lifelong learner, one who readily admits that I don't know everything. In fact, some days I feel like I don't know anything. Perhaps I feel like I am relearning science through the eyes of my own students. Once again, maybe they will teach me more than I will teach them.
All things considered, that's probably not a bad thing.
The world of children is a pretty good place. I'm glad that I get to enter into it every single day.
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