The Lovett Middle School: A 21st C. Learning Community

Meet Tyrone, @tkidd132 on Twitter, a member of my personal learning network. Currently, Tyrone is an 8th grader at a traditional middle school in Philly, but he hopes to be accepted at the progressive, inquiry-driven Science Leadership Academy next year. Interestingly, Tyrone and I met “f2f” (face to face) last weekend when he and I, Erin Dixon, and another 200+ educators and some students, met up at SLA to contemplate “School 2.0″ as part of EduCon. It was an education conference, but rather than a traditional conference setup, it was more like a wonderful conversation that you hate to see end. Since then, I’ve stumbled upon Tyrone hanging out with all of us on EdTechTalk last Monday night, and I’ve kept up with his comings and goings through our shared Twitter connection. In person, Tyrone is a little bit shy and reserved- but get him in a conversation with you–or online–and he puts it all out there. He is so engaged and inspired that he’s already calling for a “student conference” about what learning environments should look like in the future. And he wants to write…

Now meet Arthus. Arthus is 15 years old, and he also attended EduCon. However, meeting Arthus was a bit like meeting a celebrity: Arthus writes his own blog, Newly Ancient; he is one of the contributors at Student 2.0, a blog written by select students from around the world; and, at this particular event Arthus was leading his own workshop on student voice. Something tells me he really understands the power of the platforms he’s chosen–if you take a look, he’s clearly got a voice. The following map came from the Student 2.0 blog, indicating Arthus and his friends are drawing thousands of visitors from around the world:

I highlight these students because there is something “different” about them–something really special. They are engaged learners, and they are curious. And even though they may not find their own schools “relevant” for the learning they want to do, they have found a network. They’ve harnessed the Internet by reading, connecting along interest lines, reflecting, and writing…and they have found “voice.” They have something to say and they’ve found an authentic audience. As importantly I think, they’ve discovered they can be responsible for their learning and they enjoy it. You’ll note their writing and participation in this conference are not for “a grade” and are not “required”. The network and authentic audience gave them all the motivation they needed. A voice heard.

I wonder then: How might we as a middle school provide more opportunities for our students to “find their voice” and take more responsibility for their learning process? Who might we bring into their network? What kind of community might we provide for these voices here within these sacred walls? Do students have to “go outside” to find that kind of affirmation and learning opportunity? Maybe yes, maybe no….it depends on what you’re after.

Your thoughts?

Filed under: Lovett MS Blogging, Writing