On Display

Much of what we do at school seems to happen behind closed doors... the school day starts, students rush to their classes, and the day begins.  Each class has its own set of expectations and curriculum that it must discover, and often times that happens to the joy of those in the classroom, but not to the eyes of others.

My recent time spent in California and digging deeper into educational research has drawn attention to the fact that this is one of 'the problems' with education. Often, learning and the projects students put their hard work and efforts are 'for the teachers' eyes only'.  This needs to change.  Students need to do more work that has a real audience (and meet a real need... but more on that later).

This week is a time when we see more 'on display' than we do normally, and the results are evident in the student work.  When students know that their work will have an audience, their efforts and engagement increase exponentially.  

• Last Saturday's boys basketball tournament and the coming Saturday's girls basketball tournament are opportunities students get to test their skills in a real situation in front of real opponents, and a real crowd. Excellence results.
  
• This Tuesday is our annual science fair.  Grades 7 and 8 put their work out in front of judges for evaluation, but also to the public for browsing through that evening.  Top notch work is produced.
• This Thursday is the annual Fine Arts Festival.  Students put their best performance forward in front of a new audience to have them delight in spoken word and drama.  Beauty is created.

Be a part of our students' audience as we celebrate their learning. Encourage their efforts to uncover and develop their God-given gifts.  Applaud them for taking the risk to put their learning on display.  Give praise to our Creator who has blessed us with opportunity to image Him, and for the gift of growth and development of talents. Look for more work on display in the future as we transform the traditional educational models that hide our lights under a bushel.....