I once surveyed my class to see what they wanted in a classroom, from a school, and in a teacher. One comment struck me: “I like when teachers make things interesting.” All I could think of was, do we sometimes make things uninteresting? The world is… completely interesting. How is it that we take the content of the world, make it uninteresting, present it to kids, and then wonder why they are not motivated, learning, invested, involved. Interesting. If the world is interesting, and I believe it is, then shouldn’t our classrooms be some of the most interesting places?
I think we underestimate interesting. We think pictures in a book, reading about experiments, writing about things we’ve read about, doing math problems about people that don’t even actually exist should inspire our kids. But it doesn’t. What IS inspiring to our kids is the real world. Authentic experiences. Interacting with nature. Solving community issues. Being a part of something bigger. Being a part of something real. In their interests, lies their biggest passions. Their passions are the foundation for motivation, for inspiration, for dreams. That’s where the real “interesting” lies. It’s our job as educators to not only make sure our kids see it, but to make sure we’re not covering it up.