Blue: The Power of "Again" and "Still"

Two of the most powerful things a student can say to an educator are the words "again" and "still."The use of either of these words in relation to any learning experience means that something has clicked. Something in the learning experience has snagged the attention, curiosity, and passion of the person doing the learning. This snag has embedded so deep that the learner wants to continue with the learning experience in that moment or wants return to the learning experience at another time to capture that same feeling, or to learn even more.Yes. What I've said so far is all pretty self-explanatory -- pretty unrevolutionary. "Again" and "still" describe the moments that teachers seek out all the time. These are common place, everyday moments. Our job, as teachers, is that we curate opportunities where students are so inspired by a situation, interaction, or lesson that they carry their learning outside of the classroom and out onto the streets -- again and still.What is less self-explanatory and actually pretty revolutionary is when those words are used in a sentence for the first time this school year by students who have only been with one another for 20 days.What is really revolutionary and actually not at all explainable is when those moments emerge from simple, off-the-cuff situations. These opportunities are not necessarily in even the best of lesson plans, and they are certainly not something that can be predicted or even recreated. So far, Blue Band's still and again moments have been simple, and honest things: an opportunity to do a new thing like printmake, or to participate in a simulated learning situation, like a fake Mission to Mars. This week was filled with these moments, and it's so very exciting to witness it.