here is one of my innovative and keenly skilled students crafting a class..
note his objective #3 - be awesome.
what if it's that simple?
we got the privilege of a private session with James Paul Gee this year (me and my students) - he told us that some people are crafting and ap calc video game... that once you finish it.. no test.. you just get credit.
ie: part of the game is building a bridge.
he said the thing about games - when you finish the hardest game at the hardest level - it would be ridiculous to say - let's test you and see if you are any good at the game. finishing the game is proof that you are.
but - in school - we think it's perfectly natural - to feed a student info for 6 weeks, and then give them a test to see if they are any good at it.
what if we did things (projects) that mattered in school, what if our projects were real life, like figuring out the national (or city) budget, building a bridge, ... what if we did actual crafts/causes/projects in school and the business/career people we are helping determined if we were awesome of not.
if you were to hire someone to help you with your passion, would you rely on a grade they received (per fixed content) or would you rather see a collection (eportfolio/google them) of what they had actually done/shipped to make that most important decision?
if we truly make this shift.. and students truly realize what they do matters... we will be blown away by the rigor they self-impose.
