Today is one of those days when I come to the end of my day discouraged and questioning my career choices. Yesterday, my class and I engaged in a high-energy lesson where they were split into Spartans and Athenians, learned about their daily lives, and then competed against each other in a small Olympics Games. The kids learned a lot, had a blast, and so did I. However, today, this same class, as I told them to get ready to take some notes, made comments of "that's all we ever do in here". What? Do you not remember yesterday, or did somebody smack you with a pool noodle too hard? Then, when I set them to work on their short writing assignment about the Greek gods and goddesses, every question I fielded was a veiled whine about how to do the bare minimum.
I know every child is born with a passion for learning. I see it in my toddling son, as he rushes around to see, touch, and taste everything he can. I remember it from my own formative years; how I would read book after book, devouring the stories and the knowledge. I remember longing to improve my writing, so I could communicate my innermost thoughts and feelings. Then I look at so many of my students, and wonder when that fire went out and how to relight it, if I even can. There are a few whose flames are still burning, who are excited for every new fact and new connection they make, but they are few and far between. The coldness I'm met with as I try to share my own flame is slowly threatening to blow it out as well.
What about our school system, or even our society, is killing our children's love of learning?