It's Honoring Week here at Prairie Creek, my favorite week of the year. I love watching our students shine and share what they know. I love watching them teach. The ironic juxtaposition of honoring week and MCAs has been remarked upon before so I won't spend much time here talking about it but, wow, it really hits home. These kids are "showing what they know" in such a real and compelling way. What they are asked to do is so much more complex than what any standardized test is able to measure. (For more thoughts on the MCAs, check out Cathy's excellent blog entry and subsequent conversation)
My favorite part of my favorite week is the questions. Often, the question and answer session is far longer than the original presentation. The students celebrate the work of their peers by being curious about it and wanting to know more. Almost without exception, the presenters handle these questions with grace, expounding on what they've already said and revealing the depth of their knowledge.
During presentation week, our classroom seems to be a collection of experts. Just today, L.B. brought in a moth he'd found in his home. We identified it as a polyphemus moth. "Wait!" said H.G. whose honors project was about Ancient Greece, "Wasn't Polyphemus the name of the cylops in the Odyssey?" Soon, a conversation about moth life cycles, Homer, eye spots, and Odysseus was under way. Connections like these create a web of learning in a classroom. No longer is the teacher the locus of knowledge. Instead, students turn to each other as resources, finding inspiration in the passions of their peers. This week, more than any other, demonstrates what it means to be a community of learners.
The Rookery 
Leave a comment