Legacy

Legacy is something you leave behind, it is something that a predecessor or ancestor leaves for the next generation. As a teacher, isn’t that my entire job description? Or if our job descriptions have gotten too intertwind with other social and political narratives, isnt it, no, SHOULDN’T it be the most important part of our jobs; to leave something for the next generation? Give the students we see the tools to go be successful? As the 1st semester grinds to a halt and we dive into the 2nd, there are some things I hope my students will take with them after they have had me as a teacher.

Each time I rewrite this post I create a new list of important things I want to impart upon my students from specific information to specific skills but really I circle back to one overarching theme: Curiosity and imagination are the greatest strengths we can have as humans going forward. You know what I tell my kids? It’s not about how smart you are, its about how badly you want to know… we all have the ability to find any answer if we want to know badly enough.

Students who sit in front of me for the 1st time most often do not know what STEM or STEAM is. Science, art, and math are a little more approachable since they have them on a regular basis in their classroom but Engineering and Technology seem to be unreachable dreams kept in places these students don’t believe they can get to or have no right being in. When I give them the freedom and materials to problem solve or give them a design challenge they struggle with the freedom at 1st. I can only assume it is because they are used to being asked for the “right answer” or given something to do with step by step directions.

When I present projects like digital books, green screen effects, animation, coding and robotics, it breaks my heart that their ballooning interest and excitement is almost immediately deflated by “oh I don’t know anything about that” or “I cant do that, I’ve never been allowed to do anything like that” or “Oh, I’m not smart enough to do anything like that.” This breaks my heart and angers me because it simply IS NOT TRUE. We, humans, are most often threatened by things that we have little or no experience with. Of course if these students have had no exposure to or experience with these technologies or problem solving strategies then they will be apprehensive of engaging in these activities and have little faith in themselves.

According to the Association of American Colleges and Universities (2007), one of the most critical attributes employers look for in their employees is their ability to “be creative and innovative in problem solving.” Our future will be full of fixing problems that arise from technology to climate change. The world does not need people who can come up with the right answer that they have learned in school but can apply a problem solving strategy to find a unique solution. I would be willing to bet that the problems we will need to find solutions for in the future there are no answers for right now.

Kids who are good at picking the right answer on a test are not going to be the kids who solve the world’s problems. It will be the kids who dream, who are curious as to how things work and why, and those kids who are willing to try and risk failing over and over again until they find a solution that will come up with the solutions that will save our planet and create a better future for us.

So, what do I want my legacy to be? What do I want to leave with the next generation, the kids I see everyday? I want them to know that I am not anymore special than they; that Albert Einstein, Steve Jobs and Walt Disney are no more special than they are: as long as they WANT TO KNOW something there is no reason they cant learn it.