Georgia on My Mind

Personal events this week have forced me to ignore any prompts and go from the heart.

Fourteen years ago we brought home a 12 week old puppy. We named her Georgia (after the song but there is a constant battle over which version is better Willie Nelson or Ray Charles) and have cared for her ever since. This past weekend, our poochie passed unexpectedly. To say it has thrown me out of sorts would be an understatement. But, like usual my work carries me through.

My affection for Georgia has been one of the strongest insights students get about me as a person. When they make their passion pages in their portfolio on day 1, they see Georgia at the very top on my passion page template.

She is also the lock screen on the iPad students use to log into resource block. And she’s the wallpaper on the laptop I use in class. So even though I don’t spend much time in class talking about my dog, students have picked up on how big a part of my life she is. It’s amazing how many students have dogs or want dogs. Seeing a picture of Georgia always sparks at least one student to have a conversation about me. In that conversation, I learn something important about their lives. Either about a dog they have, a dog they’d love to have, or maybe a career they are interested in that has to do with dogs. That image of me as a dog lover, not simply a physics teacher, is the spark for that conversation.

It may sound obvious but students are excited to talk about something that they are passionate about. When the dog lovers come to talk to me, it’s always with a smile on their face to share about themselves. Or if it’s sad news, we’re able to have an rich conversation with an exchange of not simply words but experiences. A common theme among the IMPress books Empower and Learner Centered Innovation, is letting a student’s learning connect to something they are passionate (or curious) about. Side note: Dogs are quite curious as well and always finding new passions to roll around in, put in their mouths, or dive feet first into. Curious Georgia was not immune to these adventures.

When they are passionate about a topic, I find students are more likely to use their own words to communicate rather than blindly copying words they don’t understand from a source. They are more likely to care less about what the rubric says the minimum for an “A” is and create great work. They are more likely to thing of an interesting way to investigate the topic. They are more likely to be enthusiastic when sharing their work.

As we end our current term, I am looking at my students’ passion pages in their portfolio again for the first time since I met them 9 weeks ago. I really appreciate knowing more about who they are outside of physics. I like knowing that when I see them after spring break, I’ll remember something that they are passionate about to bring up in conversation.

Having a dog was a big change to bring into my life. She was an incredible change. I never thought I was a dog person, but I am. Exposure to new things may lead us to discover new passions. I never expected my love of dogs to carry over into my relationships with students. But, it did. My relationships with a great many learners is stronger for my love for Georgia. My wife has had many family dogs, but Georgia was my first dog, it’s been a tough couple of days without her. But we are carrying on. It’s been a big change.  But as George Couros says, “Change is an opportunity to ….”

GIF making is a newer passion of mine :)