Work of value

A preschooler's drawing of tromping along the walkway during Muddy Boots Club.

"What do you think is inside the earth?" Ideas generated by K-1 students at the start of a study of rocks and minerals. 

2-3's exult in their museum display at the Historical Society.

4-5's perfecting scripts for their history makers displays.

7th grade math: write about how you figured out the problem.

Once a student creates work of value -- work that is sophisticated, accurate, important and beautiful -- that student is never the same. When you have done quality work, deeper work, you know you are always capable of doing more.  ~ Ron Berger

Read this article: Deeper Learning: Highlighting Student Work.  It is by educator and Expeditionary Learning's Chief Program Officer, Ron Berger.  Ron has come to Parker twice to work with our teachers on critique and displaying children's work.

If you watch the fascinating short video in the middle of this article, you will get a great vision of how critique works.  It is a way of investing students in keeping at something until it is just right.  An empowering concept!  And one that lets them know just how capable they are.