Slice of Life: Basket of Joy #SOL20 #TWTBlog
Come on up … you win something from the Basket of Joy!
Yes … you win something from the Basket of Joy!
Another winner … come pick something from the Basket of Joy!
Exclamations such as these were woven throughout the day. They were thoughtfully planned during breaks and transitions. It wasn’t difficult to win. Sometimes it was luck, sometimes it was speed, and often we learned something about each other via the answers. It didn’t take much time to execute. It sounds pretty simple to put prizes in a basket and plan activities to give away throughout the day. It is simple and it caused me to pause.
In all of the details this person had to juggle to pull off a full-day professional development session, she planned for joy. She thought about the importance of joy within a community of learners. She made sure learning and fun went together. While the impact on the group that day was notable - the laughs, the shrieks, and the high-fives – I think the real prize in this ritual is the message it sends to the teachers in the room.
This professor of education is setting an important example. I cannot count the number of times someone has asked me, “… but can’t we still do …. just for fun?” The problem for me in this question is that it separates learning from fun. I want learning to be fun. I don’t want learning to be one part of the day and fun to another part of the day – independent reading vs. reading for fun. I think as educators we need to remember we are not teaching skills and strategies, we are teaching children. We are teaching children to be lifelong learners.
I don’t think we need to choose, and in fact, research suggests we shouldn’t. Students will learn more, wonder more, engage more, and remember more if we intentionally plan for joy. I recently read Start With Joy by Katie Egan Cunningham. If you are looking to read about the science of happiness and hear more about how to plan for proficiency, agency, and happiness I recommend you check it out. It is practical, filled with resources, and integrates easily with any curriculum.
I left Chicago thinking about that Basket of Joy. I will hold that image in my mind to remember to design with happiness in mind.
Thank you, Betsy, Beth, Marina, Kathleen, Kelsey, Lanny, Melanie, and Stacey for this weekly forum from Two Writing Teachers. Check out the writers, readers, and teachers here.
