I've never watched a movie about someone I actually know. It is an amazing story about an innovative approach to education, challenging the "norm", and standing up for what you believe in. I don't know that I'd ever have the courage that Dennis Littkey had to switch things up, which stirred people up the way he did in Winchester, NH some years ago.
Who'd think that a beautiful, small town would struggle with so many disengaged, destructive teenagers. How fortunate they were to have this out-of-towner choose to settle there. How fortunate they became when he challenged the teachers and recharged the students, getting them to actually "do" something that created a learning experience like none other.
When I was a child, I remember teachers and grown ups saying I could be anything I wanted when I grew up. When I grew up, I remember thinking that they forgot to mention all the hard work and support it truly takes to become anything I wanted. Dennis Littkey impacts this statement by creating a learning environment of doing something. Doing something new, or doing something you love, or both. When you are a person who does, you create change and you grow. Everyone knows how to lose weight and get fit, but why don't we "do" the things to accomplish it. Why do so many people have beliefs and opinions about important matters in the community or in the country, yet don't "do" anything about it. I believe there are many talented people out there, who don't share their gifts with the rest of the world. Perhaps, if as small children, we learn by doing, we will create a new nation of intelligent, educated, creators of change.
I strongly believe in this model of learning and hope that many more schools begin to implement elements that trigger learning in kids like never before.
No comments:
Post a Comment