What Did You Learn Today?

"What did you learn today?" seems like an age-old question; however, it is a question that has not lost its luster. I recently came across a project among Atlanta Area educators called edu180Atl. The purpose of this project is best said with the words from their website: The mission of the edu180atl project is to nurture and encourage the spirits of those who love to learn, to connect learners across disciplines and settings, and to deepen the national conversation about education by enabling parents, students, and educators to share stories of what they are learning every day. 180 stories, 180 voices, 180 days(a school year). This simple project intrigued me so I decided to send out a message to my new students for this year before school even started. I simply shared about the project and then asked them to think about participating. I decided to apply to be a writer for the project and wanted to know if my students would join me.

The first student to respond did her writing for the project this week. Keep in mind that I teach 6th graders. This young lady decided to take me up on the offer and she applied to write. This in and of itself was enough to make a Language Arts teacher proud; however, what she wrote went beyond all expectations for an incoming 6th grader. I invite you to read her article and comment on it.

So in the spirit of things, I wanted to share what I learned today. I learned that the more things change, the more things stay the same. The Elementary at our school has a lot new this year. They are using for the first time a virtual learning environment software called Studywiz. In addition, all of the teachers have their own MacBook and iPad to use for class. There are new MacBook labs and the students are utilizing Rosetta Stone for foreign language learning. All of this is phase one of what we are calling Project 21.

With all of this new, there are some real constants. Elementary kids still need caring teachers to provide reassurance and guidance. Kids still rise to high expectations. It's amazing what the kids do when given the opportunity to stretch! Kids still bring their own special kind of energy into the classroom.

I am so excited to see what this school year brings! So . . . what did you learn today?