I'm super excited about a Nerdfighter forum I just found. A group of Nerdfighters want to create a book (perhaps physical, perhaps digital) that would be like a guide to Nerdfighteria and everything about it, or a collection of anecdotes and cartoons etc. contributed by Nerdfighters. Or perhaps both. I'm excited to see where this project goes!
I started working on my Bachelor of Education a few weeks ago, and so far I love it! My colleagues are fantastic and so supportive, and I think it is because you really have to be a certain kind of person to want to be a teacher. So far no selfish bitches, haha.
We've been talking a lot about perspectives and it's so amazing to think about just how many different perspectives, backgrounds, lifestyles, family situations, cultural identities, exceptionalities, etc. that can exist in a single classroom. I recently read about a student whose parents had no idea what he was capable of just because he was quiet and they thought he had no interest in most things. When given the opportunity to use imagination and creativity in the classroom he blew everyone away. I think as teachers, parents, members of a community, etc. we have to let youth express themselves in their own creative ways. If they don't get the opportunity to be imaginative, and come up with their own ideas and develop their imagination, than they might never discover a hidden passion, we might never see the things we never imagined they are capable of, and they may never realize their full potential.
Allow them the freedom to do their own thing, use imagination, and pursue their own passions. Even if it means modifying what you might want them to do. We shouldn't ever try to make them fit our moulds. There are only so many opportunities inside the box. Outside, the possibilities are endless.
