The  On the Rise K12  conference kicked off with a wonderful keynote by  Stephen Hurley.   Several things Stephen talked about resonated with me from a life perspective.

Your life is a journey,  and it is important to share  YOUR  story.  We all have a story to tell,  and we learn from each other.  Period.   So lets unpack this a bit.

Part of your journey is to discover your passion.  In the end, it is your passions that will drive you forward to learn something new,  ask a new question,  explore a new piece of information,  dialog with a new contact … etc.   Each new ‘node’ on the journey is the impetus for moving to the next.  “Passions NEVER die“. 

I loved hearing Stephen telling his own story about his passion for radio – the discovery, the learnings, the explorations, the successes and how technology was an enabler for him to move forward and pursue his passions further.

I enjoyed Stephen’s exploration and emphasis on the “metaphors we live by”.  Well done.  As educators considering the 3 key engagement elements of social, institutional and intellectual, I encourage you to consider these points:

• how do we best ignite the curiosity spark to help students find their passion?

• within our educational context,  what actions do we take to keep student passions alive?

• how can we be flexible enough to create the path forward for  students to pursue their passion without being in their way?

Many thanks Stephen for prompting more thinking on K12 education. I hope this blog post captures another piece of the educational journey.

Share your comments here, or perhaps in a blog post of your own (include a link please!).

Related Resources
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~Mark