My mission is to teach in a way that changes students’ lives and gives them possibility. I do this through Inquiry. The very act of asking a question, whether spoken or not, increases the synaptic connections in our brains. Questioning literally grows your brain. Struggling to understand, the epitome of learning, stimulates a physical reaction in the human brain that deepens and expands it. Not every question has an answer, and certainly not every question should. But there is nothing that captures the imagination and inspires creativity more than an I Wonder question. Many of my students, by the time they get to fifth grade, have already lost touch with their sense of wonder. They have learned that school is boring, and many believe that they are failures. They don’t like what they are forced to learn. It doesn’t resonate with them. They are outsiders and have little hope to ever be insiders. In spite of this, they still have an occasional I Wonder question. How do you teach a child who has given up? Through passion.It is from this knowledge that I came to teaching. Inquiry is passion. It is the one thing that can inspire you to go beyond your perceived limits, to reclaim your sense of wonder, to grow to your potential. Each student has a passion, something that speaks to his heart, be it basketball, Pow -Wows, Hip-Hop, or comic books. It is deeply meaningful to her, and therefore propels her ever deeper into her world of understanding. In the process of investigating, hypothesizing, testing, and reporting, students learn that what they think matters. They see the direct result of their wondering, and sometimes surprise themselves when their theories prove correct. In many cases students find that they have new and ingenious ideas that lead to further wondering and hypothesizing. And the cycle continues.
Is the soul solid? We may never know, but through wondering, I endeavor to challenge each student to find his or her passion, and in doing so help each student author their own life.