On Friday, I was so pleased to be able to return to one of my favorite days of the year, High-Interest Day at Brookfield Elementary School. This is a day where I have been able to bring the concepts of physics to k-5 graders. You may be asking yourself, "Elementary students doing physics?" YES! Not just experimenting, but understanding the concepts behind the physics of electricity and sound. This is a very special day I have had the opportunity to be involved in since 2017. So, how are we able to bring the concepts of electricity and sound traditionally taught to high school 11th and 12th graders to the elementary level? There are a few keys 1) make it a hands-on experience 2) remove the mathematical calculations and make it practical. In the past, I had the luck of bringing a handful of my physics students with me to guide the elementary students through the concepts that they had learned over the course of the year. But in my new role as a Teaching and Learning Speciali
Every teacher I know has a story about that one teacher that believed in and challenged them. John Spencer and A. J. Juliani are no different. In the first chapters of their new book Empower , they tell stories of the teachers that saw their profession not simply as a job, but as a place to connect and let students learn about themselves. These teachers challenged them but also formed a personal connection with so strong that it guides their work today. When I hear these stories, I doubt that I have formed those kinds of relationships with students. I feel like it may be one of the areas where I have the biggest room for growth as an educator. As George Couros champions in the Innovator's Mindset , it’s all about relationships. That catchy phrase “guide on the side” has poisoned me to wit in the back seat for the learning occurring in my classroom, and I’ve risked the relationships with my students. In the book, Spencer and Juliani speak of the power that a guide hold