OK – I finally did something I told myself I would never do. My daughter’s writing notebook was sitting on the table (open of course) and I couldn’t help myself – I had to peek! My heart sank – the title read “Sad Tears.”  Wow – I was completely torn! I felt that it was wrong to read it (that goes against our privacy policy in the house), but the title had me worried. So I called for her to come to the kitchen and when I asked her about her notebook, she was more than happy to read it to me  (oh yeah – I forgot – sharing would bring her back to the center of attention – which is where she believes she belongs at all times). I thought the full-page piece was some type of poem – she of course explained to me (with the perfect “pre-teen attitude”) that it was a song!

At nine years old, she had taken her feelings about her current fascination – The Titanic – and shared them with the world through a song. She had been talking about The Titanic for weeks now, since seeing a small amount of the movie (ugh – babysitters!). She begged me to buy her books at the book store, she wanted to look up information on the Internet, and she even printed pictures and created questions that she and her best friend decided to explore. Now as I listen to her song, I realize she is taking all her learning and expressing it through writing. I thought this shouldn’t seem unusual, but I kept thinking I DIDN’T ask her to do this. As a parent I was surprised by her willingness to want to write about The Titanic in this way, but from an educator point of view, it really showed the power of choice! We ask students to write about their feelings, thoughts, and learning all the time. Oftentimes this comes with the laborious process of drafting, editing, and conferencing. What I really saw with my daughter’s song is the power behind “wanting” to do something because you are passionate about it, not because “you are told to do it”! When students are interested in something and they have the passion and desire to learn more, then the sky is the limit. As an educator I know this! But when the clock is ticking during the school day, choice can sometimes be replaced with “you need to know this for the test.”

I bring this up because last year Madison was assigned a research project. She had NO desire to research the topic she was assigned and it was like “pulling teeth” to get her to sit nightly (for 2 weeks, mind you!) to gather information for her big research presentation. I was not the only one with “research horror” stories. Close parent friends shared their struggles as well. It actually made me reflect on myself as an educator. Do I give my students enough choice? If not, do I stifle true passions? What would Madison’s research project have looked like if her topic had been The Titanic? Now that we are well into the school year and students are comfortable with routines, I am focusing more on topics that allow me to motivate students to want to learn. Spend that extra time to really get to know students’ personalities and continue to ask “Are they really interested?” I am hoping the answer will be YES! Because believe me – even though my daughter’s song was called “Sad Tears,” her enthusiasm for writing it made me happy.