Speaking of learners...

I spoke to the staff at Bonsall Elementary School today regarding my presentation to the school board on the state of the district. They were a very pleasant group and I enjoyed my time with them. The end of the day is a tough time to talk about educational philosophy and changes to instruction.

I was surprised at the number of teachers who seemed passionate about starting the conversation about the business of learning versus the business of running a school. Since I arrived the conversation always seems to be around money, facilities, working conditions, etc. The conversation that I would like to start is around this issue of learning.

Our tasks as educators, is not to convince others of some shared perspective, but rather to foster a passion for learning. It is this goal of stimulating passions within the learner that helped us to choose the career of educator. We should always be committed to:

helping students appreciate various ideas;
encouraging students to ask questions;
guiding students to develop the skills required to ask questions; and
developing a student’s passion to become a life-long learner.