06.28.07

Learning is…

Posted in Learning at 11:02 am by Chris Champion

This is the first entry since I attended NECC and changed the name/place of my blog. You can find my previous blog at http://blog.cchampion.net/index.htm (EDIT: it’s gone.. WP install killed it) but really I wasn’t very inspired then.

I want to start off by acknowledging Chris Craft…. I don’t think I “got” it until after I talked to you…. just like much of my professional development happens outside the class… sometimes the “richness” of blogs is in the “static”… Content, while King, is subjective. I thought that facts and pertinent information was what I gained most from the blogs I read, but you’re right, Chris…. the personal, reflective element is what brings us closer together and challenges our beliefs and keeps us questioning what we do.

The funny thing is that I was trying to think of a “new” name for my blog (the old name was “Central PA Ed Tech” and it was really not that great, plus Jim Gates’ blog http://tipline.blogspot.com/ is pretty much the same thing – although I didn’t know about Jim’s blog when I started). So I brought up Inspiration and typed “Learning is…” and then started a rapid fire:

Then it occurred to me that that is what I most care about… Learning is… what do my students want? I sat in a NECC session with Chris Lehman from the Science Leadership Academy in Philadelphia. Chris is insightful and creative… and most of all… in touch with how kids learn best. So as I’m sitting there, I realize… the best people to tell me how students learn is my STUDENTS… so I open Skype.

Now I have to share something: most of my three-year Vo-Tech students have Skype and are on my contacts. No, I don’t consider them my friends… I’m not a creep or anything. I just know that they care about social networking and involving myself with their “out of school” life means that I can advise them – in some cases, they are at home continuing their learning and they contact me for help. OF COURSE I’m willing to help (how can I not?).

So “Mary”’s online in the middle of the day (and it’s Summer break) and I ask her this:

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ChrisChampion: Where do you learn best?
Mary: not at school
ChrisChampion: y?
Mary: the seats r uncomfortable, stupid rules, stupid teachers
Mary: lmao
Mary: your not mean though…didn’t mean you
Mary: and they always pick ugly colors to paint the schools
ChrisChampion: OK, so what if I emptied the room and gave you money – how would you spend it to make my class a good place to learn.
Mary: summer homework, huh? I might just do this one.

(some time goes by)

Mary: im going to sell most of our desktop computers on ebay, buy laptops and spend the rest of the $$ on comfy chairs at pier 1
Mary: lol
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So… when asked, she was most interested in being comfortable… huh. So I think the main reason I’m setting up this blog is so I can self-evaluate what I think “Learning Is”, and then compare that to what my students think it is…. or more importantly, what they WANT it to be. I mean, I never started teaching so that I could fill the board with facts, or so that I could make some line in the sand and grade the students’ learning to that point. I became a teacher because I was inspired by my teachers – be it Will (Mr.) Richardson’s journalism class, Mr. Glennon’s composition class, Dr. Harris’ Educational Cultures course… when I learned in those classes I was having fun, enjoying myself, laughing and smiling…

And I know when it is happening in my classroom even though I still have some “tired” things… the greatest complement a student can give to me is to tell their friends that they don’t learn anything in my class: they enjoy it, they can explain complex concepts to me… but to them, EVERY other class is about regurgitation and strict order to the point that they think “Mr. Champion doesn’t teach that way so he must be just goofing off.”

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So this week at NECC gave me a big “a-ha” moment: in one year the administration is allowing me (budget dependent) to throw away all the old furniture, to replace all the old computers. I can’t add power or more network cables or anything really out there, but I do get to design a 21st Century physical learning environment.

And I’m scared that I’ll still have an environment where content is King and learning is not.

So… I’d like to ask for help. I’ve created a wikispace: http://tabularasaclassroom.wikispaces.org

I’ve asked “Mary” to contribute her idea of an ideal learning space, and I’ll contact my other students and say the same… but I’d like some outside opinions too, especially informed ones that my Superintendent might listen to or consider.

Thanks,
Chris

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