Janzen - Chapter 6 - Joining Forces in Purposeful Work: The Legacy of Student Contribution

Chapter 6 - Joining Forces in Purposeful Work: The Legacy of Student Contribution

I have to admit, I am kind of sad that this book is ending.  I feel like I have so many more things to research now.  Alan sure knows how to spark creativity and purpose. Perfect quality in a teacher.

I spent some time going over The Students’ History (http://dgh.wikispaces.com) and thought about how excited I would have been as a student to create a digital textbook.  How much more would I have learned and remembered. How much more would I have felt like I was making an actual contribution.

Also this chapter made me think about the concept of the “digital footprint.”  I think it often has a negative connotation, like “don’t put up inappropriate pictures because that is part of your digital footprint” or “be careful what you say to people because it is out there forever.”  While these are important lessons to learn, think about how amazing it would be to look at it through this lens.  “Remember to do your best work so that your legacy is this digital footprint.”  It makes it so you want to leave a footprint because it is your contribution.

Reflecting on your own school experience is important in this process.  I’m trying to think back at what I remember from high school.  I remember snippets of classes and lessons but what I remember most are the projects.  I remember creating a poster that described “Mi Vida” in Spanish class, creating a video of the Great Gatsby with friends where I was “run over” by my best friends Karmann Ghia, creating an ad for my English class where I had a stop-motion, toothpick battle between a piece of Wonder bread and a piece of wheat bread, and finally I remember researching and presenting my senior project on eating disorders.  One more thing, is I remember the history notebook that I put a lot of effort and time into even though it wasn’t really for the “grade” and my teacher asking if she could use it as a sample in years to come.  Other than that, most academic things fade away.  Those projects were all something that I was excited about and put extra time in. I of course wanted a good grade but knew that all the extra time and energy wouldn’t give me anything over the A that I probably would have received anyway.  It makes you want to think about the lessons we are giving students. Are we creating something memorable or just relying on memorization.  As a teacher, I did create some projects but I think I may have spent more time on things that aren’t really important.  Now as a coach, I have the ability to ask these questions to a wider audience. I hope that I can spark that kind of purpose in others.