When we think of the billions of dollars that have been spent on test-prep, I cringe. Not because it was my billions of dollars, but because when I was a kid I remember worksheets. I also remember how they bored me. I wanted to create and make things. Not fill in blanks and look up answers. I was good at that game, and I made sure I got my A’s for my report card, but it wasn’t fun, engaging, or even about learning. It was about completion and doing stuff to get stuff done.
Cardboard. Blank Paper. Mr. Sketch Scented Markers. Glue. Masking Tape. Duct Tape. It was all I needed and all I ever wanted. And it was something I rarely got in school. Except that one day a week I went down the hall to the gifted program, when I got to tinker with the computer and loved technology from the moment I touched it. Fortunately, I also had parents who supplied me with the tools or had desk drawers I learned to “borrow” from. But the majority of school was all a blur of text books, papers, and finding answers in paragraphs. At home, I was always making something. Because I learned early in my life that I needed to create things to feel alive. I still do.
Now I look at the world of tools available to… Sphero. WonderLab. Laptops. iPads. Microphones. BeeBots. Scratch. Coding. Hacking. LittleBits. 3d Printing. Blogging. Digital Cameras. Lego Robotics. Photo editing apps. Video production apps. Glue. Cardboard. Blank white paper. Markers. Duct Tape….in SO many colors. That kid in me? It makes my head explode in a way that school should have, but never really did.
And I remember being that kid, in a desk, writing on a worksheet, chasing A’s. And I know there are kids every where waiting just like I was. And I want them to have the chance to explore, dream, and make school more. Because truthfully, kids deserve more. They are our future, and we’re going to need them to navigate a world that we can’t even fully imagine. And we can provide them a safe place to explore that world. Even if we have to step aside, put the tools in their hands, and toss aside worksheets we’ve been using for years. Even if. We can make school more.