Project Based Learning

I love being in the presence of learning phenomena; moments spring
up like sudden fountains or flashes of light. Happens all the time in
the classroom. Perspective is everything. Imagine this scene. Kids have
been toiling for the last couple of weeks on standardized testing - and
I have the unenviable position of being the dreaded administrator.
Where has our classroom teacher gone and who is here in his place
impersonating him? That is what their faces say as I distribute the
thick, bland booklets, and then read the scripted instructions. These
tests are strange intrusions into our project-based classroom. We have
been doing and talking and moving around, and tinkering and writing and
blogging and Questing in Atlantis… and now, what! Has the universe
imploded on itself? The testing begins and the faces sag and the brows
wrinkle and the concentration that is usually present, fades into
whatever. Do I make myself clear? The kids are ready to go home right
now, where normally they are ready to come to class. This silent, no
talking, fill in the trick answers, decipher the pretend
paragraphs…it just gets worse.  I wander the room unable to help, and
watch as they misinterpret, mismark, or totally skip questions. I
remain mute per the instructions. I have to chuckle. Where in the name
of common sense is the validity of this activity? What kid in the
classroom is learning from this experience? What does this government
sponsored and very very expensive test have to do with the life of the
child frowning into the booklet?   But onward….

After the test, I declare mega-recess! We cannot get to the
playground fast enough. Our feet are leaden in the effort to find our
way to the exit; we want to run but the rules of school say that we
must walk. Then we burst throught he doors, into the sunshine, and some
of our innate creatrivity and joy begins to return. We wipe the test
from our minds and rush toward the swings and climbers and grassy open
spaces. We all breathe in and our smiles return. We have the longest
recess on record and I imagine calling the Guiness Book of World
records and reporting this extravaganza of play.