Wednesday, February 07, 2007

Passion

I thought this post on Passion-Based Learning read like a provocative manifesto...great stuff.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

So many times we, as teachers, have fallen into the trap of teaching from the manual. It’s easier, admit it! But passion is contagious! Do you think we honestly have a passion for teaching money to first graders via worksheet after worksheet? No, and unfortunately that will be evident in my delivery. So in my passionless delivery will I help inspire a passion for learning about money? It’s highly unlikely! My favorite part of this blog is the last line, “I hope to learn from and with them.” I truly think this is where passion starts. If students believe that you are willing to be a part of the passion they will open their hearts and minds. Technology has become such a normal part of everyday life. Students need to see teachers learning and growing with the times. Teachers have to continually keep up with what tools are out there. I love the comment about stepping out of our “comfort zone of content.” This is not easy but again this is what students need to see; the teacher learning about something they are not comfortable with. Passion-based learning is essential to life-long learning!

Anonymous said...

I like the idea of explaining our personal reasons for choosing a book and why we are passionate about a topic.

Passion is contagious. When I look back on my high school, university, and graduate years, it was the teacher who was passionate about his/her subject matter that pulled me in.

Chemistry came alive in Mr. N’s class, and my art teacher, Ms. A, opened a whole new world for me. Their passion pulled us in like magnets, regardless of the subject matter.

I’d like to be that sort of teacher: sharing my passion.

Anonymous said...

I became a teacher because I wanted to be passionate about what I was teaching and I wanted my students to be passionate about learning. However, over the years I can feel that passion draining. Stress put on test scores, increasing amount of content to be covered each year, troubles with parents and students, and so many other things have seemed to take the spark out of teaching for me. I know I teach differently than I did several years ago. This blog has really made me look at how I teach and how my students learn. Next year I am going to try to get my passion for teaching back and hopefully my students will find a passion for learning.