Passion and Purpose

It happened again the other day.  I had an exchange with a middle school student about a new idea and found the student initially challenging the concept simply as it represented a departure from what used to be.  The encounter left me pondering how we meet students where they are developmentally and stretch their understanding through open dialogue. How do we move a student deeper into the learning process in these teachable – learnable moments connecting them to real passion as it informs true purpose?

There are real learning experiences that truly shift the way we think and innovate. The drive to think independently certainly requires that from the earliest years we instill the attitudes of confidence and imaginative thinking in our students.  The development of personal confidence allows a student to identify, nurture and develop the inner voice so necessary to pursuing one’s true passions.  It also creates the space needed to prevent the outside opinions of  ‘others’ or’ the status quo’ from squelching one’s vision and creative inspiration for a new way of approaching things.

Progressive schools encourage students to enjoy living in the world of ideas, to be curious and to think independently.   Conversations unfold repeatedly throughout the day  in cooperative groups or larger class discussions where teachers and students commonly inquire, "What do you think?" or interject, "But, I have another idea." ,or ask,  "What are other ways to solve this problem?" ,"Why did you choose to solve the problem this way?",  "Perhaps there is not only one right answer to this question.".  These exercises in exploring and considering what we know and how we know it generate habits of mind that support creativity and allow students to evolve beyond the walls of any classroom intellectually.

This is the essence of critical thinking.  Examining and incorporating diverse perspectives and pushing the limits of our ability to hold alternative viewpoints.  As we listen carefully to other ideas and stories, we are more fascinated by the world around us, and that attitude of engagement supports confidence in distinctive points of view and encourages us to do the hard work requisite to our best thinking, best editing, or best searching for the depths of our learning.

Returning to my moment with the middle school student, I extended opportunity for deeper dialogue inviting the student to take pride in the formation of ideas and joy and passion in expressing them.   Together we work to ensure that imaginative thinking, ripe with ingenuity and the problem-solving skills critical to our world, takes precedence over the simple adolescent behavior of questioning others on superficial levels.