It’s All About the Lens

Our family recently had the chance to watch The Lion King in 3D.  The entire experience was stunning….except when one of my kids drooled Reese’s Pieces onto the comforter.  Actually that was stunning as well, and the miracles of OxyClean may be future blog material.

Back to the movie.  As far as I’ve surmised, the magic of 3D lies in the glasses.  Without the glasses you see a semi-fuzzy movie.  And you get a headache.  With the glasses…..ahhhh.  Let me tell you!  It is magical!!  During the movie there were a few instances that I caught myself dodging out of the way.  It felt like there was a pride of animated lions frolicking in front of the TV; and I’m not talking about my three little cherubs.

At any rate, I did a little research into 3D technology and found that there really is some science packed into the experience.

So what’s the point?  The lens we bring to any situation is critical; it can reveal magic, potential, and creativity.  Sometimes, forward-thinking occurs more readily when we are willing to release our grasp on the rear-view mirror.  School and the very nature of learning is in a transformational time, and we’d do well to ensure we bring the right lenses to conversations about change and 21^st century learning.

I’m a firm believer in the mantra that, “What you look for in life you often find.”

Whether you are a parent, teacher, school leader, or otherwise; begin (and continue!) to look for opportunities to support students in their learning of 21^st century skills and fluencies.  The work we all did as students was part of a different time, and less connected time.  It remains important.  And….there is new and different work to be done.  The tools our students and teachers have available to them today offer limitless potential.  As somebody who cares about education, I encourage you to carve out 10 minutes to reflect upon the contents of this website:

http://fluency21.com/fluencies.html

Watch a short video clip or two, and see if you can pair work your child is currently doing in our school to some of the concepts from the website.  Amazing things are happening and school is changing.  The role of the learner is taking center stage as we are moving towards a more personalized experience for each and every student we serve.  Rigid rows of desks are being realigned.  Collaborative clusters of kids are conferring on content that requires critical thinking and conversation.  Relationships remain as vital as ever.  Communication is key; and it is evolving too.

Our kids are counting on us to have updated lenses so that we can provide them a vision full of possibilities.

Originally posted March 25, 2013
Image Credit: FotoSearch.com