PSA at Veterans Park Elementary

The most important thing educators do is empower students to develop ownership of their learning. When students own the content by asking questions, investigating answers and connecting new content with prior knowledge, the learning tasks become authentic to each and every student. This authenticity helps students take ownership of what they are learning.

The empowerment part of education comes from getting to know students and developing an open line of communication. When students feel valued and know that all questions are important, they become empowered to ask more questions and seek answers. This independence and ownership of content enables students to continue asking questions, which is what learning is all about. 

A professor once told me -- after I was feeling unsuccessful with my research because I had developed more questions than answers -- that I had a drive to learn. I decided that is what I want my students to have: a drive to learn that stems from being valued, owning the content and feeling empowered to ask questions and seek answers.