An invisible sun illuminates the dark rock that is our moon in the night sky. We cannot always see where the light comes from. Dark times can make us feel we have been abandoned – unable to see our way forward. Fear can stop us in our tracks. But then light finds a way, and our path forward reveals itself again. 

Learning in the hands of a playful mind shines light into even the darkest of spaces. Student voices shine brightest for us all.

Questions call for answers. Certainty begs examination. Book leads to book which leads to book – there is no end to what can be explored. Then the day comes when we awaken – realize: there is no end to our study. Gravity releases – we spin, reeling. Exhale – we settle onto solid ground – mind wide open – simply follow the questions – a trail marked by those before us – until – one day – the trail is bare and we find ourselves taking our own first steps – making a new way for those who will follow us – they in turn will reach our final question – and move forward taking their own first steps, asking their own new questions – shining a light brighter than the one we passed forward.

Education is not an end game. As teachers, we strive to help our students experience the play of learning. We hope they will see clearer and farther than we have been able to. The excitement of a question that cannot be googled. A statement that challenges a long held belief. A point of view that makes everything we believed suddenly look thin and misguided. An experience that opens a door we did not even know was there. These are the moments that come to us when we learn through curiosity – driven by wondering.

At its best, school invites the voices of students to question, to theorize, to hypothesize, to formulate, and then to question again. It is the student voice that breathes life into our schools, that brings those of us who teach back each day hoping to learn more from our students. What do they think? What do they see? What do they wonder about? When we are able to approach our learning with the spirit of play the world opens to possibilities. 

I hope this weekend you have the time to pose a question out loud and prompt others to engage in conversation. Ask a question for which there is no certain answer. Enjoy the play of learning without end. Education leaves the light on for us all. 

Peace,
Chris