Max Learning: Oath Taker

    

Five-year-old Max stood with his small right hand raised, staring transfixed into the stern gentleman’s eyes who stood across the counter. I listened with a lump in my throat as he recited an oath in the most heartfelt, serious manner I had ever heard him speak.  “As a Junior Ranger, I Max, will do all I can to take care of and protect Rocky Mountain National Park and the plants and animals that live here. I promise to continue to explore, learn about, and respect the natural world wherever I go.” Many of you know that there are few emotions as powerful as a parent’s pride in their child. I swallowed the lump in my throat and made a commitment to support Max in his oath. 

Max had an adventurous summer in which we traversed 12 states camping, hiking, and exploring mountains, prairies and plains. He was a builder, swimmer, and a gamer. So many of the lessons he learned can be applied to a classroom environment.  Let’s explore some of these lessons.

The Power of Service – Beyond the beautiful vistas witnessed in Big Sky Country, Max especially enjoyed the fauna. Bears, elk, coyotes, marmots, and ground squirrels were some of his favorites. One can’t help but want to conserve these landscapes and the creatures that abound there. Max’s oath solidified a drive to protect and respect our natural world. One of the primary actions that the Park Rangers share is for tourists to NOT feed the wildlife. Feeding wildlife creates issues with human encounters that can endanger these precious species. I knew that Max took this to heart when he approached an adult who was tossing peanuts at a hungry ground squirrel, and redirected his behavior. It takes courage and commitment to redirect a grown man when you are not even 4 feet tall. One of the most powerful intrinsic motivators for us all is to have a sense of purpose. We are driven to have an impact and be a part of something that is bigger than ourselves. Do your learners see themselves as an important individual in the bigger community that is your classroom? How can we engage our students in service as a motivator?

Measuring Up – Max is a strong swimmer for his age. Sometimes it feels like he is almost TOO comfortable in the water. Last summer, on a visit to the Blue Bell Aquatic Center, Max was excited to go down the water slide. Unfortunately, he did not meet the minimum height requirement. What happened next was remarkable. A life guard offered to give Max a swim test to see if he was capable enough to safely navigate the pool at the base of the slide. After swimming a lap, the life guard was confident in Max’s mastery and allowed him to slide to his heart’s content. Without the extra effort on the part of the guard, Max’s experience would have been limited and his engagement would have been less. We see arbitrary limits set in classrooms every day. What can we do for our learners who walk in the door already masterful in the skills we are teaching? How can we give them a “swim test” and allow access to an area of learning that they would otherwise be denied?

Leveraging Passion – Max has a newfound love. It started as just a ripple and grew to a tidal wave. A handful of Pokémon cards purchased by Grandma Sue stretched to a binder bulging with hundreds of cards. This was followed by a drive to binge watch Pokémon cartoons on Netflix. The exclamation point at the end of this near addiction was Pokémon Go.  Courtney and I have been forced to learn more about the Pokémon Universe so we can engage with Max over his new passion. As parents, we found it necessary to set some limits on his time pursuing this passion so that he did not get lost in this alternative universe. Educators know that finding success with our learners starts with relationships. One surefire way to connect with others is by discovering their passions. This can be especially true of our most challenging students. When dealing with behaviors, remember that allowing students to indulge in their passion can be leveraged as a reward for doing the right thing.  How do you discover your student’s passions and engage them through those passions?

Keeping it Real – Santa brought Max a workbench for his 3-year-old Christmas. For quite some time, he found great joy using plastic hammers and toy saws. He connected faux wood pieces of foam with over-sized screws in the shapes of bird houses, rocket ships, and cars. Max is a builder by nature. Over time his interest in building with these toys waned and the workbench became a dust collector. To reignite his fire to build we shifted to real tools and real projects. Hammers, screwdrivers, and paintbrushes… oh my! The authenticity of the work made it engaging. In the classroom, we can extend our student’s experiences beyond artificial problems and scenarios. How do you allow your students to own their learning and make it authentic?

This post started with describing an oath that Max took to earn his Jr. Ranger badge. I propose that we modify this oath and make it fit our role as parents and educators. Would you join me in this oath?

 “As an educator/parent, I Mark, will do all I can to take care of and protect the success of children. I promise to continue to support their exploration, learning, and passion wherever I go.”

Max Learning: Learning Everything

How do you bring a big smile to the face of a father who has been an educator for 30 plus years?  My four-year-old Max knows just what to do.  Simply stare straight into Daddy’s eyes and make this heart-felt declaration, “I want to learn everything!”  My little man’s drive to learn is something to behold. His passion for learning is a precious thing. My wife Courtney, and I, treasure it and are driven to keep that fire stoked.  In this post I will explore some of the actions we take to engage Max so that he can move toward his goal of “learning everything.”  I think the lessons learned here apply to all learners, big and small.

Leave it for later – Max has a variety of centers throughout the house.  He has a store front opposite a miniature grill.  He can “cook” up a multiple course meal, ring you up on the register and serve you at a table for two.  A pressed plastic castle form serves as a central focal point for ongoing pirates versus knights conflict.  He has a dress up area, multiple libraries and his current favorite, a table for his Legos. 

To maintain order, our expectation for Max was to reorganize one center before moving on to the next.   “Clean up Clean up, everybody everywhere….”   I suspect you know this song.  Like most young ones, Max is prone to fight the clean-up process.   This is especially true when it comes to his Lego creations.  We learned a tough lesson through these battles to let Max pick a specific creation to keep for later.  Upon reflection, it makes total sense that he would struggle with dismantling the creation he finds value in.  This simple acquiescence has reduced our battles and created a balance between cleaning up and devaluing his creativity. How can you allow for ongoing processes that provide continuity of creativity for your learners?   

Let them lead – Max has become very proficient in riding his bike with training wheels. The wheels will be coming off in the fall.  As his proficiency grew we began lagging behind so that he could pick his own path.  I was amazed at how simply allowing for him to choose which sidewalk he would venture down increased his motivation to ride.  How do you provide autonomy for your learners so they will pedal faster than before?  

Search it up – The questions that Max has about the world seem to be endless.  This is especially true when it comes to space and natural science.  What can I say, he is his father’s son when it comes to that.  I find myself frequently struggling for complete answers that satisfy all his curiosity.  That’s when the smart phone comes in very handy.  My favorite platform to leverage is You Tube.  How do you respond to your learner’s big questions to support a “search it up” mentality?

Lessons within service – I understand that it is important that we all see ourselves as something bigger than ourselves. In an effort to support this idea, Max and I set a New Year’s resolution to pick up one piece of trash every time we are outside. On an outing last spring, we focused on cleaning up a ditch near our home.  Beyond the lesson in service, Max stumbled upon some really interesting things.  A dead cedar wax wing allowed us to look at the anatomy of a bird up close.  A shy crayfish and his recent molt gave us an opportunity to talk about exoskeletons.  How are you leveraging teachable moments for your learners?

Junk collecting – Every parent knows the frustration of their child finding more joy in playing with the box a gift came in than the gift itself. This should not be a surprise when we consider the creative minds of our little ones.  We have begun collecting odds and ends for Max to use outside.  He engages with these random objects as much as or more than his outside toys.  Bungee cords, sticks, and a variety of containers are his current favorites.  Could you create a maker space for your learners?

Moving beyond the trivial – Max has a great memory for past events and the names of things.  On a recent trip to the Sonoran Desert, he had the opportunity to see novel flora and fauna.  He knows the difference between a saguaro and organ pipe cactus.  He can recognize javelina, coyotes and quail.  I am proud of his ability to remember the names of things, but I work hard to question him into deeper understanding.  We were fortunate to observe some animal behaviors that are perfect for exploring the “why”.  We watched a pair of javelinas stroll into a dry creek bed.  One began rooting with its snout in the creek bottom until a muddy pool of water appeared.  Through questioning, Max was able to articulate why this animal was doing this.  At first he postulated the javelina was going to drink the water, but when the javelina rolled in the water, Max figured out that he was after a cool bath.  How do you question your learners so that they will think deeply and own their learning?

Butterfly lessons – In the spring we collected 5 monarch butterfly caterpillars.  On a daily, sometimes hourly basis, we watched as the caterpillars devoured the milk weed and grew larger.  Four of the five attached and formed a chrysalis. Only three of the insects fully pupated and spread their wings as butterflies.  In our world that seems to promote only immediate gratification, it was refreshing to see Max stay interested and ultimately be rewarded by seeing an adult emerge.  I believe this is the most important lesson of all.  Life and learning are imperfect and require patience, but wonder lies at the end!