Confession: I honestly never imagined that Minecraft really is fun. Even though tons of kids have told me it is. Even though I’ve watched my own child play and just didn’t grasp what was happening. Sure, I saw the block-headed guy, I knew his name was Steve, and I saw that you could dig holes and make piles of blocks. I even knew the frowny green guys were called Creepers. I knew enough to know that I wasn’t interested in it.
Until I realized I was.
Have you ever talked to kids about Minecraft? Their faces, their eyes, their learning. It lights up. They explain their strategies, discuss their techniques, and their conversations are oozing with problem solving and creativity. And when you listen, you hear about castles they’ve built. Entire villages. Bridges. Amazing structures, piece by piece.
So, I tried it.
But all I could do was run into a wall. I got stuck in a pit. I couldn’t get out of the water. Minecraft was hard. I felt like I was in another world where everything was new, and everything was a struggle. And it was uncomfortable. Because it was hard. And I always felt… lost.
But I stuck with it. And I learned to walk, run, jump, and even fly.
And this week? About 30 teachers stayed after school and we explored Minecraft. Together. Flying. Running. Throwing blocks. Our little island paradise was our afterschool hangout at a “Block” Party. And I was inspired. It was no longer about my comfort zone. It was about digging into a kid’s world. Where play and learning, learning and play, connect in a seamless bundle of experiences. Where creativity pushes us to try things, to reach farther, to do something difficult. Where we experience the joy of figuring something out and celebrating accomplishments.
I saw the same thing this week in kid’s eyes as they explored how to import media into iMovie and as another group mastered programming concepts in Scratch. Technology is never the focus, but what it offers us is. Play, experiences, doing the impossible, creating new things from our imaginations, and building something awesome. Innovation to create experiences that become little torches to light up their learning.
It’s all far more than blocks and if we keep our minds open, we can see that and find our way. But even better? If we keep our hearts open to connect with our students? They will show us the way.