When We Try to Define Everything

I look around at the last few years of my teaching and I see definitions. Labels. Everywhere.  Assessment for Learning, Response to Intervention. Common Core.  Standards. Differentiation. Data. Higher Order Thinking. Test results. Technology Integration. ELA. Interdisciplinary studies. The list could go on. And on. And on.  But, really? The heart of it all? Learning. Real learning. The kind that’s magical. That isn’t built on a definition or a program. The kind that is built on kid’s curiosity. The kind that’s rigorous because it’s ongoing and deep.  The kind that’s relevant because kids are invested in it.  The kind where relationships are built and the stuff we know isn’t about the stuff we know.  It’s about growing, as a person and as a learner.