r​emoved entirely and I was met with the familiar refrain of desks in never-ending rows and an emphasis on silence. So, I decided to dedicate my entire career to squashing the notion that education had to be the way it always had been.

​When I first started teaching grade 8 sciences, the light bulb went off for me as I walked into my new classroom to find students either totally disconnected from the subject or just doing because they had to with no vested interest. There were some students who were engaged but it just did not feel right. Enter gamification!​

​It is the idea of using game design elements in a non-traditional setting. Going deeper than that, you can extend the system to mimic anything you would like to do. The power of this approach, while unconventional, resonates with all students because we as humans have an innate drive to want to play and have fun. There is a common belief that play is the antithesis of learning but that could not be any more untrue. When we are engaged and enjoying ourselves, the learning sticks.

I chose to prep students for real scenarios but totally revamping everything that I did from content delivery to assessment, to work creation. The results were spectacular! I saw engagement, unlike anything I had ever seen. Grades (although I am not pro emphasis on grades) were rising and teamwork skills were increasing. On a personal note, I was also having so much more fun in my classroom, and my joy and enthusiasm began to permeate through to my students.

​Here are the different elements that are built into my gamified classroom. You can incorporate any of these to any degree. A gamified classroom is quite dynamic!

​Mystery: Using unexpected twists and turns, little explanation and leaving a lot up for interpretations it primes students to be creative, patient and quick thinking.

Jobs: I offer a variety of jobs in my class where they earn currency in the game. To get them they need to apply then submit a resume then take a job interview (if too many applicants) and follow a work schedule. Custodians, shopkeepers, designers, engineers, etc… They miss work or do a bad job they need re-training or are let go.

Money Management: I give them currency as a reward for all kinds of things. They then learn to save and plan with their money for larger items and strategy becomes a focal point. It also teaches them the value of money – something many people think doesn’t exist in our youth.

Problem Solving: Using an augmented reality platform they can scan and a la RPG things come to life. They meet people in trouble and help them – if they wish – knowing there could be consequences for not helping or benefits for helping. Also, their work is vague and left for interpretation. They interpret and often produce clever and new forms of tired old work. They actively are solving, and even finding, problems. This is crucial in science because many of the problems we are trying to solve globally require unique interpretations and creative approaches.

Teamwork/Guilds: You are randomly assigned a team to work together throughout the game. They learn about teamwork and collaboration. The most successful stick it out and work together. They learn that changing to be with friends doesn’t always work – they learn the grass isn’t always greener. They walk out better group members.

Negotiations: Players can barter, buy, sell and trade items with me and their peers. They learn incredible negotiating and planning skills. The things kids have pulled off are incredible. The perks and slick speech is nothing I could teach them traditionally.

Observation: Science is about observation. That didn’t happen enough in my past classes. I add puzzles, treasure hunts and open-ended clues that force true observation and strategy. They are so much more observant of the world around them now.

Leaderboard: A way to track the progress between different players and different classes and teams. Tracking your progress allows you to plan ahead and strategize. I also offer up multiple bonus missions to cement knowledge for people who want to move and do extra. Emphasizes growth versus the traditional vantage point of school which is lost.

​hear about this teaching methodology are, “How do games make kids better learners?” and “How is this going to help them in the real world, you’re not helping them you’re harming them!” We, in the world of education, want to see changes but are hesitant and scared when they happen. Some feel like anything out of the normal education will ruin kids. But it’s not true. My classroom is more than games and more than fun. It took me hours of planning and trial and error to get it right, and it continues to evolve even to this day.

For teachers interested in learning more about using gamification in the classroom, please feel free to explore my website. It contains a blog, a store, examples, and tutorials about how to do things both big and small; or my YouTube channel where I am slowly but surely creating instructional videos for teachers on this concept; and a teacher’s guide full of examples, templates and blackline masters to help anyone learn how to design their program to best fit their students, any grade, any subject, and any school, budgets big or small.

Teacher to teacher, never be afraid to change your classroom and never be afraid to be the loudest voice for your students. In the real world, we would never stand for a company that refuses to progress but in education, we are OK with it. Why? Just because something has been done one way for a long time, it doesn’t mean it needs to remain that way. Be the agent for change your students need.

​Press start to begin!

Hello everyone!

Looking at the calendar, listening to the radio and of course, seeing it on TV, it is that time again in Canada! Back to school here we come! I’ll be heading back myself in just under a week from today and this is about the time where I begin to finalize some of my new ideas for the upcoming school year. A huge gamification goal I have every year is to add something, modify something and/or take something away so that my game does not grow repetitive in the eyes of the students. I’ll be making some videos about some of these individual components later on throughout the year. The thing is, that won’t help you now, so I wanted to share with you all some of my gamification goals and ideas for the upcoming school year!

1) Build A Gamification App

While I know many of you are aware of this goal, and have even begun the process or creating your own, I feel it is still worth mentioning. I have always wanted to build my own app. I have followed some online tutorials, I have watched YouTube tutorials and I have read a blog or two but I just can’t wrap my head around the concept. Until now that is! If you have not heard of GlideApps (www.glideapps.com) you absolutely must check them out. They turn simple Google Spreadsheets into incredible cool and fully customizable apps!
​
Tracking the many small details I have built into my game (ex: gold, health, XP, etc…) really eats up a lot of my time and, admittedly, in years past I have missed a lot of the information when it comes to gold and health. My goal has always been to simply the process so that it is quick, easy and not time consuming. Enter the app! Using Glide, I have been able to build a data tracking app that I can share in real time (well, OK, there is up to a 3 minute delay!) with my students. I am so excited about this and literally cannot wait to test it out. I’m sure there will be some bumps along the way but I’m confident that it will be a true game changer for me!

If you haven’t seen it yet, I made a video, with a free template in the description, about how to build your very own app!

2) Introductory Letter & The Oath 

Every year, due to the uniqueness of my program, some students believe they can test me by taking some days off. Remember, I teach the 8th grade so this is not uncommon at all for a 13 year old to do! I would always begin the year with my usual spiel and shift into the gamification letter home but something about that never sat right with me. This year I have come up with a solution!

I’ve taken my usual letter and I’ve revamped it to really breakdown gamification for parents. Ultimately, I’m with the kids daily so they get it but it often takes a while for the parents to wrap their heads around the concept. I believe I have included enough detail to make it clear and answer the most commonly asked questions I get. Now to better address my concern with students who challenge the idea of independent work and a class where I will not hold their hands throughout the process, I added my “Oath to Scientia Terra”. I’ll fancy it up with texts and graphics and stuff later on, but what it is, is a medieval style control pledging allegiance to the land of Scientia Terra while promising to put forth their best efforts throughout the year … or deal with the unique consequences of gamification! The oath then needs to be initialed, and signed, with their parent and guardian. Act like an egg head too many times … look what you signed kiddo! I have decided to share the letter with you because I always get a lot of questions regarding how you explain this to parents.

Voila!

Click here to check out what my letter looks like! (Word)

Click here to check out what my letter looks like (PDF)

So what is the consequence this year? Easy! I’m building a dungeon! What?
​
I’ll be framing off a small part of my classroom and making it into a dungeon using some foam board insulation! *Pro Tip: that stuff is absolute magic when it comes to building things!*  If a student, after repeated warnings, just doesn’t make life easy for him/herself of their guild, they will be placed in the dungeon. While in the dungeon, they must complete a task to be re-entered into the game. All contact with guild members will be stripped away and any skill points will be wiped out. Essentially, if you won’t think for yourself then I’ll force you to do it! It is also a respect thing to me. I put forth a hell of a lot of time and effort to bring this program to life and I want kids to know that!

Before you cry foul on this, the dungeon has no roof, will (see: should) be used infrequently and each incident/student in my classroom is viewed circumstantially. This isn’t going to be pen for children I don’t want to deal with. It is actually the opposite; it is a last resort!

*Insert evil laugh here* 

3) Hunger Games Districts & Resources 

One fun thing that I do is bring in resources. I have a series of resource cards (ex: lumber, nails, cloth, etc…) that can be used in a number of different ways. They can be combined and crafted together to form other items, they can be used as trading pieces or even exchanged for the real thing and used to build physical objects (ex: classroom furniture). Students really enjoy them!

​One thing I was hoping for though was more trading between players and guilds. This didn’t end up happening like I wanted, as most kids would hoard items and some bonus goals would grind to a halt. To fix this, I ventured into the world of The Hunger Games! In the this book, each district is responsible for a specific type of resource. *Light bulb*

Numerically, my 3 grade 8 science classes should work out to be 12 guilds. I’m going to put a resource under a scratch card and once the guilds are formed, they will pick a card at random and scratch it to reveal their resource. If they are successful, on task, putting forth their best efforts, etc … they will get to roll a dice at the end of each month to determine how much of that aforementioned resource they earned. Better you perform, the bigger the dice!

Ex: Bad month, lots of fighting in the guild, minimal quests submitted, etc… = D4
Ex: Amazing month, on task, supportive, creative, etc … = D12 or D20

By now making resources more difficult to earn and harder to obtain a wider variety, I’m hoping that trade will be increased between guilds … because, well they will have to! I also have a chat feature in the app which I’m calling “Trade” where guilds can “Post Messages” (see: chat) to plan trades and other things.
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I’m very excited for this twist! I believe it could really add some much needed life to my resources sub-quests. 

Surprise! Interested in your own set of resource cards! Happy back to school month! Here is a link to all of my Crafting/Forging items. Feel free to use them as you please. 

Click here to check out the Google Drive "Crafting Items" folder

​Also, here is another resource that I've had up for years that is somewhat underutilized. Years ago, when my classroom first broke out on Reddit, I was contacted by a programmer from the Silicon Valley. He was super pumped about the idea and wanted to help out anyway he could. Well, ladies and gentlemen, he coded me a crafting store. It goes with all of my resources. Use the link below to check it out for yourself. Easy add to any classroom as the items are above and the recipes are all pre-programmed. 

*Fun Fact: I lost all the recipes I submitted so it is fun to figure them out haha! I no longer have a master list* 

Click here to visit the crafting shop! 

4) Micro Missions / Quick Quests

This is something that I thought of while planning with my former student teacher, Spencer Law. While coming up with a unique lesson plan idea, we fumbled our way towards creating the idea of a “Micro Mission” or a “Quick Quest”. We tried it out, and it didn’t work exactly as we had planned, but that’s the way the dice roll sometimes! This summer, I had time to tinker with the idea and let me tell you, I believe I’ve figured it out!

The first thing you will need is a map or some sort, that has a grid overlay on it. At this point, I need to throw out a HUGE shout out to Ross who runs 2- Minute Tabletop (https://www.2minutetabletop.com/). This website is LOADED with FREE table top icons and maps that are beautifully hand drawn. They flow together very nicely as well so consistency is easily maintained. As I struggle with perfectionism, this is crucial for me. I downloaded every free one he has and I’ve got them sorted into folders.

Here are some examples. Truly, this is just the tip of iceberg when it comes to what he offers ... 

​I’m going to make a video tutorial about how to do this in detail but in essence, as a bit of a teaser, here is the basic premise...

Step 1: Select a map and some icons/tokens and weave them into a loose story. Nothing crazy, just something like “You arrive at what appears to be an abandoned campground. There are various items strew about and some tents ripe for searching!”
​
Step 2: Pop the map, with its grid line overlay, into a PowerPoint or other presentation tool slide and project it onto your board. Rough measure how big a grid space appears as reference for your token.
​
Step 3: Print off the token and laminate them so they are durable and therefore re-useable. Attach a flat magnet onto each one. I found a strip of 200 at the dollar store; simple yet effective.

*Pro Tip: If you use flat magnets, you can layer them onto the board. For example, put a treasure on a square,  put a loot bag over the treasure then put a tent over the bag. When they reach the tent they can choose to search it, if they do you lift the 1st magnet revealing the bag and so on!*

Step 4: With the map projected and the icons placed onto the board, have each team design a logo to represent their guild and put it onto a magnet. I do this in the 1st week when they design their flag and guild identity.

Step 5: Develop a series of quick questions for each time to answer. Place them in envelopes in front of the room.

Step 6: Have 1 D6, 2 D10 and 1 directional die setup and on the ready! Read the introductory narrative script.

Step 7: Release the guilds into the enveloped (basic rule of 1 at a time, per guild of course!). Each time a guild gets a question right, they get to roll the D6 and move their token on the board to explore the area. Each square is worth 1 movement so roll a 3 and move 3 squares.

​As they arrive at different scenarios, 1st come, 1st serve, they earn unique rewards, clues, hints or whatever else you’d like to include in your own design. The activity runs for 30 minutes.

Why the D10s? They are the Battle Dice! If two guilds land on the same space, they will have a roll off, best 2 out of 3. Winning guild pushes the losing guild back the value of a D6 roll in the direction of the directional dice. It could backfire though if the push sends them in the right direction! Risk vs. Reward!

Also, if you add monsters or enemies, you can have a 4 out of 7 roll off to see who wins the battle! Students win, then they proceed with whatever the narrative piece it but if they lose it is death, all items are dropped at that location and it is a return to the beginning!

​This should provide a quick review game, oozing with strategy and quick thinking, some luck of and an infinite amount of choice. Can’t wait to try it out and make a video about how it do it with more detail!
 
So there you go! Those are my four main goals for this year. I’m hoping that each one will add a new and exciting element into my game. The more I push the kids, the more they push me and I love that! I cannot wait to see their reactions when they play with the app, learn their resource, sign the oath and complete their first “Quick Quest”.

So far, 2019-2020 is shaping up to be my most in-depth yet and truthfully, I can’t wait!

Stay tuned my friends, a lot more to come this year!

- Master Heebs

PS: If you are still reading this, all of my digital documents, including the PDF version of my books are on sale until Sept 1st. Use the coupon code Back2School and you'll get 50% off. When you guys, I'll e-mail you a link to my Google Drive folder with everything I've ever made ... ever! 

Cool beans!

Let’s face it, teaching is not an easy job. Since everyone has experience in education as either a student or a teacher, there are opinions galore about our profession. Sadly, with all of these opinions comes the sometimes overwhelming feeling of pressure. I have always wanted to write a piece about this topic but I was fearful of the response. I feel like this topic could produce some backlash or accusations of hypocrisy (more on that shortly) but today is the day I venture out and do it. Why today?

About 2 weeks ago, I read a blog by a fellow teacher named Adam Powley. Adam is a phenomenal teacher who also uses the principles of gamification in his classroom. He is full of knowledge and great ideas. His blog (www.classroompowerups.com) is a fantastic resource for teachers and via Twitter (@MrPowley) he is always quick to respond and help out. His latest blog, found here: (https://classroompowerups.com/2019/01/15/emotional-struggles-some-personal-sharing/) though really resonated with me. Someone as good as him was feeling the weight of teaching – really?! I needed to show my support to him and all my fellow teachers. I’m kind of going to go all over the place, but here I go …

Since the explosion of Instagram teacher pages and perfect classroom Pinterest Boards, there is a growing feeling that our own classrooms are not, or never will be, up to snuff. The more we see these “exemplary” rooms and pristine setups, we begin to question our own “imperfect” classrooms. Please, if you haven’t heard it before, your “imperfect” classroom is perfect for your students. Your efforts are exactly what your students need. Your ripped up borders, dirty countertops, teacher desk with papers to the ceiling and handmade, semi-functional storage systems are completely fine. Why? In my opinion, because it is real. It is a real reflection of what teaching really looks like. A messy, crazy and demanding profession.

​To be clear, I don’t believe teachers build their Instagram pages or Facebook groups to be judgmental or boastful. They are proud of what they do, much like I am, and want to show it off. They are hoping to inspire others. The problem is that so many of these pages are beginning to pop up, that they are inadvertently creating a sense competition while fueling a sense of inadequacy in many teachers. Thoughts of, “well my class will never look like that!” or “I don’t have that kind of time!” are becoming more and more frequent amongst the profession. While I love competition and believe it has a significant role in education, there is something this sort of competition is missing. The other side of the coin if you will. Back to that momentarily. 

Now, as someone who does what I do, there are probably many who will cry foul to what I just said. “Look at your classroom! Look at your blogs and videos! What a hypocrite!”. First off, you are totally entitled to believe this but I’m hoping this next little bit will help sway your opinion as this is entirely what I am not out to do. 

​Second, I once had (ironically it got ripped up) a poster on my classroom door that read “Excuse the mess, learning is happening here!” Teacher friends, messy classrooms are OK! So much of what we see as the “perfect classroom” is totally unrealistic in terms of it being maintained. Check out the first page of results for “the perfect classroom” via Google Image! 

I have worked in a variety of different buildings, visited many different schools and spoke with countless teachers. I have yet to meet one who has a classroom like the ones pictured above and you know what? The world keeps spinning in the end. Messes are not only acceptable in education but they should be encouraged!

Third, being a teacher means you are able to juggle a huge variety of things simultaneously. Our attention is constantly being sought out one way or another. With our focus on student needs, the room is going to get messy. That’s fine! You do not need to have a flawless space to promote learning.

I think a lot of us, teachers and non-teachers alike, forget that we (teachers) are also human as well. We have our own lives, our own families and our own needs, problems and issues. I think when you get into teaching, you have an inherent drive to want to help and take care of people and in doing so, we forget about ourselves. Here is brilliant piece I read to students during the 1st week of school to remind them I’m also human too (https://affectiveliving.com/2014/03/08/what-students-really-need-to-hear/). It extends to parents as well.

Through your own sacrifices, juggling of your own life and late nights of prepping, planning and marking, your classroom will inevitably fall apart. Your lessons will sometimes flop and your assignments won’t come together in the picturesque social media montage as you had hoped. It will make you feel sad, frustrated or disappointed. It won’t look like the stuff you see online on social media and that’s OK! If every class was the same, the uniqueness of you wouldn’t shine through!

We live in an age where we want our perfect selves to be all that is seen. I’m guilty of this as well. I do not share enough of my struggles as a teacher. I want everyone to think I’m awesome and I’m perfect but let me tell you I struggle, especially these past 2 years. I have had some difficult classes, even more difficult students and faced a multitude of personal health problem. I’ve also been battling depression and anxiety for about 5 years now. It isn’t an easy balance but I make it work. I wish more people saw that side of me instead of the social media persona that I sometimes, regrettably, add to. 

In order to do my little part towards helping out, I’m going to issue a challenge to my fellow teachers. As we ask students to be themselves and avoid filters and judgement of others I’m going to see if we can set the example ourselves. I’m going to encourage teachers to post to the shockingly unused hashtag #MyPerfectClassroom with pics of their struggles or, dare I say, real side of teaching. Post pictures of the piles of papers you have to mark. Maybe a shot of your messy bulletin boards and dirty desks. That broken, failed attempt at a milk crate storage unit? What your classroom looks like on a Friday afternoon? Share a story of a lesson gone bad or an evaluation that flopped. Post it all! The space is for a good laugh and the honest side of teaching. It will help remind you that you are not alone in this jungle known as teaching. For every pristine, spotless classroom there are about 25, we'll say, not so pristine. 

Again, while I know people who begin these pages are not out to bring about negativity or worry, the sad reality is that some are feeling it. Each day that “some” grows to include more and more. Let’s not forget what got us into teaching – the pay and the fame! Haha! Sorry I couldn’t resist! We got into the profession to help out others and show them the beauty of learning. When you talk about beauty, remember it is always in the eye of the beholder.

If you need a reminder of this, just remember any commercial for a fast food hamburger. They sure as hell never look like the commercial when you get it but you eat it just the same!

So, if you had the patience to read through all my ramblings, please remember these 4 takeaways …

1. Whatever you are for your students … it is enough; you will always be enough.
2. Messes, dirty classrooms and failed lessons are all a part of teaching.
3. You are not just a teacher but also a human and that is OK!
4. You are not alone in any potential struggle you may have.

If no one has told you this before, I appreciate you. Teacher to teacher, you are doing something amazing. You are taking the minds of tomorrow and shaping them today. Whatever you prep, is enough. Whatever your classroom looks like, it is beautiful. Whatever you feel, it is OK.

Hope this took even the smallest weight of your shoulders!

Stay awesome, you got this!

Scott Hebert
AKA: Master Heebs

As I walked through the freezing cold, with my dog on a leash in the dead of Canadian winter, a thought crossed my mind. I hate winter and I hate being cold, but here I was, out in -20, walking my new puppy. As my shoes (I’m a Canadian who does not own winter boots) filled with snow and my ears froze, I asked myself what the hell I was doing? I looked down at my puppy Moose, happily plowing through the snow, body covered in ice and slush and it dawned on me, “I need to be more like Moose!” 

​There are a lot of lessons that a dog can teach a human, even though they have no intention of it at all. Dogs simply live their lives in the here and now but it is through this process that they can teach us so much. I’m a teacher by day, where students look to me for advice and guidance but by night, I have grown to become Moose’s student. Teaching is about stealing and sharing ideas so I thought I’d steal and pass along 2 of Moose’s lesson plans to you all … 

1) Stop Overthinking

Let’s face it, teachers, and those of us in education in general, are master “complicators”. I don’t think I have seen a profession where so many good ideas die before they are given a chance to live. Education is a static beast. There is a lot of fear and overthinking in this field which stops a lot good ideas from ever taking flight. Many have the belief the system should not be changed.

“How will this be assessed?”

“How does this match (insert curricular goal here)?”

“What will the parents think if you teach this way? Try this project?”

Once all of the questions have been answered or asked and the dust has settled, many good ideas just simply die off because they are, quite frankly, beat to death. Enter dogs! Dogs do not overthink anything; they just do! Go back to that walk outside. At no point in my life would I ever go for a casual stroll in -20 weather. I would think about cold it was outside. Is my coat thick enough? Do I need gloves? The list goes on, but I would take that simple task and complicate it to death, where the end result would be not doing it at all.
​
On that fateful day when Moose was begging to go outside, he didn’t allow me to overthink it. He jumped up, wagged his tail furiously and barked. He demanded that in that moment we go for a walk because in that moment it is what he wanted. This is a powerful lesson for teachers. So many times, you, yes I’m talking to you, have a great idea for an activity or a lesson in your classroom but you overthink it. The process of second guessing oneself rarely occurs in dogs. When they feel it should happen, they go for it. Keep that in mind when your next great idea arises. Think of my little Moose and go for it! Stop being a “mast complicator” and move to become a “master creator!” No part of me wanted to go for that walk at all but in the end, it was awesome and I’m glad I did it. It lead me down a new path. A path I will regularly be taking. 

2) Unconditional Acceptance

Being a teacher is hard work. There is nothing more frustrating or disheartening then when a student falls back after making so much forward progress. Sometimes, it makes you want to give up. To just throw your hands in the air and walk away. This is the easy way out but once again, dogs possess a hugely valuable lesson for us here.

Dogs love us unconditionally. Once they grow to accept/know you, you become a part of their pack. Every day they come back and support you and love you - without fail. More importantly, without condition. Even when we screw up, when we shout at them or put them in their kennel when they become too much they welcome us back with open paws. They give you a clean slate every single time you screw up. They are the definition of love, acceptance and forgiveness. They light up and explode with joy when they see you. Every morning and every day, when I arrive home from work, Moose greets me as if I haven’t seen him in years. His pure joy and happiness with simply seeing me in that moment always makes me happy. It makes me feel wanted.

This is another powerful lessons for us as teachers. So many times our students will push us to the edge. We will want so badly to yell at them and put them in their own proverbial kennels so we can escape them for a moment. We sometimes dread seeing them after a confrontation but we know they will be there waiting for us. When you are ready to give up and at the end of your rope, remember how dogs see us. No matter what wrongs we do, they are there for us the next time we see them. Excited, tail wagging and jumping around with joy. They light up for us and they make us feel happy, wanted and loved. Remember to light up and be joyful for your students. Even when they damn near break you, wipe the slate clean, give it a fresh start the next time they see you. Show them unconditional love and assure them you will pick them up when you fall. I always tell my students… 

Just like my little 20-pound Moose, who barks at strangers and big dogs, because in his mind he is protecting me, I’ll always be there to protect and care for my students. They become my pack. Some days it isn’t easy but in the end it is worth it. Relationship building is tough as a teacher but the results are always worth it. When you create that bond, with no conditions of acceptance, they will flourish.

Note: someone will read this and argue that conditions are good. Just as a side note, we can have conditions and boundaries and goals and expectations, that’s all good and fine with work and projects. When it comes to feeling welcome and accepted in my classroom, I want students to come as they are. Their incomplete, messy, confused, emotional selves. More importantly, I want them to know it is OK, I’ll be there for them, unconditionally.

So remember, pets of any sort can teach us a lot of lessons. Remember these lessons and lean into them for guidance. Dogs want nothing but to please us, feel safe and the occasional treat. Our students are not too far off. If they feel safe, secure, trusted and valued (and if you sneak them a treat or two) they will flourish. 

So to all my teacher friends and colleagues, be like my Moose. Don’t over complicate things, love unconditionally and let others see your tail wag.

Stay awesome everyone!
​
- Master Heebs

​towards changing their classrooms. Some of the changes have been small scale while others have been total revamps. The message I consistently receive from almost all of them, no matter what the scale of change they are willing to implement, falls along the same line. The process was intimidating, challenging and/or risky but it was worth it. It reminded me of this quote that helped me realize change is OK when I doubted myself early on…I wish I knew who said it first!

Looking at the world around us, so many of us love being comfortable. We love to wake up and know what to expect, know where we are going and know who will be there. In education, that is even more paramount! Cassrooms have traditionally been run under rule, order and consistency. So much of what we know about education has not changed so when someone ventures out into the great unknown, ready to be uncomfortable, the detractors rise up from the abyss.

I will admit, I have received little to no flak from my school community. I am so blessed to have tremendously supportive students, parents, staff and administration. So supportive in fact, here is a picture of my superintendent, playing the role of an orc commander, getting smacked with a sword (pool noodle) by a student during our end game last year! How much more support can one ask for?

Sadly, this is not the case for everyone who is willing to step outside their comfort zone for their students. This year, I have seen a bit of a spike with parents who are questioning this whole thing. If you remember from an earlier blog post (Chocolate Covered Broccoli), I alluded to the science and research behind gamification and how it works. Also, if designed properly, how it creates a rich, learning experience for our students. So why am I seeing a bit of a rise from a few rogue parents who refuse to see the forest from the trees?

The answer is simple; they are not willing to be uncomfortable! The whole premise of gamification is to be uncomfortable. It challenges your conventional thinking, challenges your standard classroom designs and challenges the traditional notion of what education could be! We have grown so comfortable with education that those who planted their roots in the traditional refuse to acknowledge any sort of advancement.

The story that prompted this blog came from a teacher, I’ll keep them nameless out of respect, who asked me what to do with a set of aggressive parents. This teacher went full bore on gamification this year. Teaching a few different grades, they began to piece together a story of competition and challenge. Some students playing the role of good and others bad. Created their cards, wrote their quests and worked tirelessly over the summer to revamp their programming. The results look amazing and were being well received until the decision to remove furniture and have the ability to earn it / build it came to be. This idea sent a few parents into their “zones of discomfort” and they immediately began to challenge the teacher. Being new but confident, this teacher stood their ground and asked for them to give it some early support to see how it would all play out. They continued to fight and argue, using language I would categorize as vile and disgusting, and refuse any sort of explanation. They had one idea and one idea only – get their way.
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Why does this happen to us in education? Everyone has experienced education to some capacity in their lives so everyone in turn has an opinion. When you change education, the tradition it is rooted in changes and our beloved comfort zones become tested. 

​teachers. We need to challenge and push our students out of their comfort zones in order to help them grow as well rounded people. Creating a series of robots, something I have argued education is designed to do, is not our job! 
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I wanted to write this to give you my personal vote of confidence. Know that if you receive these e-mails, answer those phone calls or listen to those rants … you are doing your job. You are taking someone and challenging them to see it thru a different lens. Even if they disagree with you, cuss you out or call you into question, you are making them think. Wait, what?

In order to start an argument, you need to know where you stand on said subject. You then argue. After you say your piece, inevitably the rebuttal will come. You then take what is said and process it. Even if the person sticks their fingers in their ears and shouts “I don’t hear you, I don’t hear you!” know that your message has made it where it needs to be. It will sit there and begin to set its roots. When it comes up, in any capacity, that person will begin to say their piece and when it again comes into question more roots will begin to set. The idea is now there and is being heard, even if it is unconscious, and it is helping erode that level of comfort and shift it into discomfort.

 Remember, no matter what path you take, what pedagogy you implement, what assessment tool you use, there will always be someone who has something to say. I used to take great offense when this happened to me, until I realized what was going on. I was challenging them to get out of their comfort zone. I was telling them to get comfortable being uncomfortable. I was asking them to trust me. For some it is hard and for others it is easy. Regardless, know that you, the amazing teacher that you are, are investing countless hours and dollars and putting your vulnerability on display for your students. You are this for them and have their best interests at heart. Remind them, or anyone who disagrees with you and whatever teaching methodology you choose to apply, that is it OK to be uncomfortable. There is nothing wrong with being uncomfortable but there is something wrong with being unwilling to listen to and/or try something new. I always remind my parent and student community, if this flops we can go back to the supposed “tried and true” methods but let’s be uncomfortable together. Being uncomfortable in education is not a sign of weakness, it is a sign of being willing to grow and to me, that is a sign of strength. 

Remember, as people may have told you in one way or another, it take a long time to turn an aircraft carrier, you eat an elephant one bite at a time or the only way to stand up is to be willing to fall. Whatever words you choose to live by, they all boil down to discomfort. Find that discomfort, stand in that discomfort and let its lessons, whatever they may be, help you grow professionally!

I will always have your back! In education, we are better together! Ice cream and cones too ... 

I hope this comes out written as it did in my head. This was a tough one to write and articulate. If you have any questions please post below...

As a science teacher, my biggest nemesis has to be YouTube. Actually, biggest nemesis and supporter, but in this blog I’m going nemesis. Why you might ask? It seems like no matter what I assign in terms of a project, there are 100s of different explanations and variations online, broken down and ready to go. It was not anything I really thought of until I began teaching science 5 years ago. I distinctly remember assigning the creation of a density tower, order to be determined by a viscosity ramp, and lo and behold, I received a ton of identical projects. Coincidently, they came with no mention of a viscosity ramp because the video everyone followed contained none. I began to pull students aside and ask them about their projects and their answers were vague, unclear or flat out nonsensical. It was incredibly frustrating as I had spent a solid week explaining the concepts, performing demos and asking questions which apparently were to no avail. While the moment seemed grim it was my first lightbulb moment towards wanting to change up my program and what would eventually lead me to gamification. 

As I’ve mentioned before, once I had a continuous contract, I knew I wanted to change things so I did via gamification. It was a long road but one that was so worthwhile. So what the hell is point of this blog? Well, despite my efforts in gamification, I was still being thwarted by my nemesis – YouTube. I use scenarios to deliver my work, which I call quests. My goal is to always craft them in a way to avoid it being obviously searchable. I want kids to think first not just mindlessly search and follow. It works for most, but when I try to get the major projects, or the deeper thinkers written, YouTube always finds a way. So over this past couple of weeks I decided to take on a different approach.
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We are currently tackling Unit 4  of the Alberta Science Curriculum - Mechanical Systems - in the land of Mechanica Mundi where local traitors to Master Heebs, have captured our guilds and have been pitting them against each other for their own entertainment. The final task they were given was to create a mousetrap powered car and the guild who produced a car that travelled the least distance over 5 attempts would be tossed into a battle with the beast of Mechanica Coliseum. The results could be game changing… 

Now, at first glance, the results were typical. Students read their scrolls (I’m a stickler for detail) and got to researching. So my first task was to limit them in their research. I said the people provide you with access to resources for day 1. Whatever you have written down after day 1 is all you can use for reference. After that all resources would be confiscated. To do this I simply made students put all of their resources behind my front desk, phones included, so nothing sneaky could happen. Now it was time for some fun … 

As we began Day 2, this is where I blindsided the guilds. They arrived with various materials and I quickly asked for them to be placed in the front of the classroom as well. Then I hid them. Nope, not this time. What I did not want was a simple following of instructions with perfectly chosen materials where no thought was put in. I wanted them to fully understand how the car body needed stability to withstand the force of the mousetrap. I wanted them to understand leverage by adding a lever arm to the mouse trap kill bar. I wanted them to understand how the ratio of axel to wheel effected distance. Plain and simple, I wanted them to understand!

“We don’t get our stuff?! What the heck! What do we build with?!” was a very familiar refrain.

“Well, the people have granted you the privilege of searching the grounds for supplies. I need 2 scavengers. You have 8 minutes…” 

Here is a video of some of the scavengers from one my classes heading out and about. Watch carefully what one of them says as they head outside ...

​​What this meant was that the guilds would be tasked with building their cars out of whatever they could find on our school field. *Note: I hid nothing on the field, they were looking for literal garbage* Keep in mind this field would be scavenged by 15 total guilds so everything was 1st come, 1st served. 

Here are some photos showing what some of the scavengers salvaged to give you a general idea about what they collected. It wasn't pretty but this was the goal. More on that soon...

*Side note: this doubled as an awesome school yard clean up! Winnning! * 

​We also setup a table with basic, and often random, items for sale they could buy with their game currency (gold) but they were priced pretty high to force them to think if they really needed it. 

​What ensued was chaos, kids running around, unsure of what to get but knowing they had to get something. You can even hear one of my students shout out that very thing in the video clip above. Once they had their supplies they went on to building and it was everything I hoped it would be. It was frustration, it was cussing under their breath (I heard you guys!) and many wanted to give up. Exactly as planned. I had disrupted the simple process of following step by step and forced them to think. 

By Day 4 the frustration in the air was tangible as most things weren’t working. It was time for the final phase of my plan. I began by getting my students into their guilds and asking them how it was going. The expected release of frustration and panic flooded the room. I then told them something they weren’t expecting, “I knew this would happen, I wanted you to feel frustrated. This is meant to be hard, I don’t even know if it is possible”. Another wave of questions and frustration was then silenced when I asked them…

What followed literally blew me away. By being honest and letting my students know I acknowledged it was tough, explaining to them what the goal (3 key skills) was and overtly challenging them to not be lazy, they began to work feverishly. Their entire perspective changed. I began to see failure begin met with “tweak this” or “this is too long” and so on. They took failure exactly as it should to be viewed, a learning tool. Over the course of 1 class I saw an increase from literally 0 moving cars to an average of 3 per class. Moving from 0 cms to nearly 1 meter. The results were astounding. Completely shocking to be honest.

So what are my big takeaways here?     
 

1. When it comes to assigning tasks that you know have obvious steps to follow and are easily found online in places like YouTube, create scenarios to limit their use. These videos or guides should be used as help for our students but they often miss that point mistaking that simply doing exactly what they see shows they understand. It doesn’t.
   
   
2. Remove the perfect resources and bring the environment and/or scenario you say the students are in to life. Force students to remember what the video said not how the video said to do it. Get them to see a small branch as a lever bar or an old drinking cup as a car body. Let them create.
   
   
3. Acknowledge that failure it OK and it is part of learning. Be real and be honest. Challenge their belief that to be good the project has to look good. Let them put the proverbial square peg in the round hole.
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4. Emphasize that giving up is not an option. Perseverance is such an essential skill in today’s day and age because we all have access to everything but know so little about everything.

YouTube, Google and all the other sites like them are always going to exist. In many cases they provide great learning opportunities and are actually quite useful. In other cases, though, such as in science, they can simply be a crutch for students. Change the game up and catch your students off guard. You’ll be surprised that when you force them to think, when you take away their biggest “thinking tool” what connections they can truly make. Do not be afraid to put them between a rock and hard place.

The crowning achievement to this quest design? My guild that is currently in last place, and has been for some time, took the quest message to heart. So much so that they won the competition, crushing their opponents, much to the shock of everyone. Could be a massive changing point, I guess time will tell.

I just love gamification …

Until next time

​-Master Heebs

Also, to honour my winners, here they are with their car, showing their total distance traveled over 5 attempts (7.92m) and their finished car. Pretty impressive for old Popsicle sticks, sticks and some tape. Well done PeaceKeepers from 8W! 

Just a mini post here to coincide with my latest YouTube video ... nothing fancy!

​As I progressed through designing some of my game elements early on in 2015, I decided I needed different ways to hand out their work. Simply giving my students work didn't really make sense to me if I wanted an exciting and captivating classroom. One of the ideas that I decided to use was the concept of a "Choose Your Own Adventure" style delivery. 

I've decided to create a short YouTube video describing how I did it because I figured that would be easier to follow than reading a blog post. To go with the video, I've decided to include my entire Unit 3 Quest Packet for you. It should help you see how I wrote my story line for this adventure and give you some inspiration towards your own gamified piece. 

Any questions as usual, I'm happy to help out! 

Click here to download my Choose Your Own Adventure Complete Set (Word Doc)
Click here to download my Choose Your Own Adventure Complete Set (PDF Format)

Here is the video ... 

"Gamification – what a bunch of bull#$#” – my favourite message I’ve ever received. More on that shortly…

Teaching hasn’t changed for a long time … a long, long time. I’ve been a pretty vocal proponent about my displeasure with education for quite some time. To be clear though, I’m not critical of teachers because we work our tails off for our kids within what we are allowed to do, often over the dreaded standardized tests scores we produce. What I am critical of the system which tends to stifle out creativity in teachers who then become worried about changing things up. I’ve never really been worried about rocking the boat so when I decided to begin my journey into the unknown realm of gamification I knew there would be some backlash. ​

​First off, gamification, or any new teaching strategy or methodology for that matter, often gets misjudged before it is truly understood.  People are quick to point out “holes” or “flaws” in the process because of course, everyone who is not in education knows so much about it or they throw out the “show me the research” card.  It used to be frustrating to me because when my program was criticized I took it to heart. How dare people question my love of teaching, my dedication to my students and my push for innovation. So what was everyone’s major flaw with gamification, “you are just sugar coating everything and using extrinsic motivation, no real learning it happening here.” Actually, if that was what my classroom actually was I would totally be with them, but it isn’t. In the gamification world we call that “chocolate covered broccoli”, meaning you can’t just cover something in chocolate and make it instantly better, like broccoli, because in the end it is still broccoli. In a truly gamified classroom the design, setup, planning and execution goes way beyond that and I’d love to share why it works with you.

Education has 6 fundamental flaws that are evident in some way, shape or form in schools. I’d like to breakdown these 6 flaws and how a truly gamified program addresses each one. I’ll use my program as an example to demonstrate how each one was combated.
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Here is a little video I came across that illustrates the flaws pretty well, this is also where I selected the wording for the 6 flaws... 

Industrial Aged Values

If you look back into the history of education, school was designed to essentially promote a specific type of student, or in reality a specific product. The system needed to bring about people who were good at following direction, not questioning authority and not bucking the system. The vast majority ended up in factories on assembly lines routinely performing the same tasks. While this may, and I stress may, have worked at the time, the modern world does not reflect these value at all. Of course we appreciate being able to follow instructions and contribute but we need more than that now.

In my program, especially because it is based in science, following direction and order is a fairly useless endeavor. I need to produce thinkers, not robots. Many of the problems we are now faced with require outside the box thinking, collaboration and innovation. I needed to foster this so students in my program do not earn maximum XP (top grades) for doing what has already been done. If their 1st instinct to is Google the solution, I’m not doing my job! I fabricate all of my major quests (major projects) so that they are loaded with details and problems that need to be interpreted and broken down. I awarded bonuses for creativity and award risk taking. Whether the project works or does not work, the process and explanations along the way mean more to me than receiving 30 identical Styrofoam ball cell models for example. I do not want factory workers, my classroom is design to push out creative thinkers and strong collaborators.
 
Lack of Autonomy

When designing my program, I wanted students to understand that they had control and that I trusted them. While I could not re-work my entire school day schedule I could re-jig how my classroom ran. When students quest (work) they are given a series of different quests to complete, each ranging from easy to hard difficulty. This often included bonus and optional assignments as well. Each assignment is worth a different amount of XP and the monthly goal is to hit 1500XP points. Do honour autonomy and choice, I provide them with 2000XP worth of quest, meaning that students can choose which ones they do. This allows them to carefully select the ones they feel comfortable in and progress up to more challenging ones, in essence, they provide their own form of scaffolding. Much to my surprise since I have started this process, over 75% of my students to date consistently attempted more quests than required. Even though they hit their monthly targets they often refuse to sit back do nothing, when by the rules of the game, that is perfectly legal because they earned that time off. Even more incredibly, students regularly show in class and the first thing they ask is, “are we questing today?!” which in a non-gamified classroom would be the equivalent of, “are we working today, I want more work!” By simply providing choice, I’ve been able to encourage students to take risks, put forth more effort and challenge their own creative limits.
 
Inauthentic Learning

I really have an issue with the regurgitation of information. Yes, knowing is good. Knowing things because you simply have to results in you forgetting that information when its requirements are met (i.e.: writing the test). On a serious note, how many tests and quizzes do you actually remember from your schooling? Students need to experience their learning and not just be a simple part of it. In a truly gamified program, the students are immersed in the scenario and theme, connect to the narrative and set their own personal expectations. As they quest in land of Scientia Terra, the knowledge is being applied practically and retained with a much greater consistency. I once had a student write a test and hand it back to me saying, “you know, I didn’t study for this because I just knew it, it’s like when I was questing I was studying!” and I replied, “it’s almost like I designed it that way!” I want students to connect to what they are doing and through experiments, construction, battles, games, puzzles, riddles or completion of challenges they become immersed in their learning and just simply a bystander in it.
 
No Room for Passion

Many classrooms are so tightly controlled that when a student wants to try something out of the ordinary it is often shut down before it begins. I have experienced this first hand as a student and did not want my classroom to reflect this so I created work and marking systems that were specific enough to ensure the material is covered and understood but vague enough to ensure it does not lock any student down to a specific way of thinking. Students begin to infuse their passions into their projects. I’ve received heavy metal songs about cells to coffee mugs that explain diffusion. Art pieces that teach me about eyes and vision and children’s books that my daughter actually requests I read to hear at night before bed. My letting students dive into their passions, their work becomes a true reflection of themselves and not of me.
 
How We Learn

I totally get that we learn in different ways and require different resources to make learning happen. Some prefer that we instruct orally while others need to see it and experience it. In my classroom, I aim to reach all of these different ways of learning. I spend, on average, less than 200 minutes lecturing in favour of an average of 400 minutes questing. I present students with the base goals and materials and during questing, they dive deeper into it. It gives me time to mill about the room talking with individual, or small groups of, students in order to check in on their understanding. They also ask more questions during these times because they are not the center of attention with everyone looking at them. They feel less pressure and more confidence.
 
Lecturing

While I admit I do lecture in order to teach, I use a different platform to accomplish it. I learned about live content delivery system and have fallen for one known as PearDeck. PearDeck allows me to simultaneously cast my lecture from my screen onto their own personal devices, all they need is an internet connection. While doing this, students can reply to me, or the group, anonymously, giving voices to the shy in your room. It promotes a greater discussion and a deeper learning than what I used to do, which was admitted just talk at students, throwing information at them in mass hoping they would pick it all up. There are other live content delivery systems you can check out as well such as TopHat, SplashTop and NearPod.
 
So in essence, you can see that a gamified classroom runs far deeper than just sugar coating learning and, to come back to the first line of this post, it is not a bunch of bullshit. When done properly, it promotes a deep learning, fosters creativity, invites passions into the classroom and encourages collaboration...among other things. Mine runs ever deeper in certain area. Students arrive excited for class and wanting to learn more and do more. I guess you could say, true gamification is more than chocolate covered broccoli.
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And hey, if the haters keep coming at you, don’t worry, just read this incredible quote by world renown author and psychologist Brene Brown … 

Until next time ... 

- Master Heebs

Yes, you read that title right...

Throughout our careers as teachers we come across a lot of different challenges. Sometimes those challenges are small and easily manageable while others are huge and difficult to even comprehend. Sometimes the challenges we face break our hearts while others ignite a passion in us even we did not know we had. Regardless of the scale or magnitude, at the end of the day, we need to address those challenges and this is yet another one of those stories! 

When I started my adventure into the realm of gamification, I knew that I would be embarking on a journey that would be filled with challenges. So much in the world of "gamification in education" is still emerging, even more so when I first undertook this journey 3 and half years ago, that I mentally prepared myself for the negativity I would inevitably face. Surprisingly enough, I received very little backlash as my students jumped on board immediately and this was soon followed by their parents and my admin. I began to push my students outside of their comfort zones in my classroom, pushing them passed their own perceived, educational boundaries and into a world of education they had not experienced. While it all seemed to be working out well, when it came to evaluating work, I was getting the same ol' stuff. In short, I was still losing the battle to Google. What do I mean? Even though the work was presented differently, the first approach was almost always, "Google it!" instead of "Think about it!" 

Let's double back here quickly if you are new to my blog or even new to me. I teach grade 8 sciences and I want to help kids connect to the incredible science that exists around them. I want them to realize the world in which they live is full of innovation and inspiration. So back to it ...

No matter how engaged they were in the concept, or the subject as a whole, was I ultimately doing anything different if they did not want to think in the end but revert back to what other people have done? Therein lay my next challenge! Could I design work that was more challenging and fostered a deeper level of thinking? I had no choice in my mind, it was a must if I wanted my gamified program to achieve its goals! 

So where does the dragon blood come in? Well, while doing a little research, I came across an article that I knew would change the game, pun intended, forever...

While doing a little research for an upcoming class, I came across an article titled, "The Blood Of Dragons Could Destroy Antibiotic Resistance". Of course, based on my medieval themed, gamified classroom, I could not help but read this article! Also it said dragon blood - amaing! As I dove deep into it, light bulbs began to go off in my head and immediately I was on to something. 

*Side Note* If you want to check out the article here a link to it --> Dragon Blood

So the article in a nutshell explains how we are in a potential future crisis if we cannot come up with ways to combat the frightening rise of antibiotic resistant bacteria. It further explains, and this is the key part, how scientists noticed how Komodo Dragons, those giant, living breathing dragons, could eat seemingly anything and be fine. It got scientists thinking, and in turn, it got me thinking. 

Coming back to science, one of the most fundamental principals of science, is observation. Scientists, researchers and the generally creative, are constantly looking at the world around them for inspiration. They are not looking towards Google or the Internet but are looking at the world around them for ideas. Could I design work based around this fundamental principle? Could I design work that triggered observation and not Googling? 

This is where the idea for work, or what I call "questing", presented in the form of a year long running narrative, was born. Early on, during my initial attempts at gamification in 2015, I was just giving out assignments as individual stories that were not connected. The wording was too simple and not driving a deeper level of thinking and I was quickly noticing this. All of the work I received was too simple, and concerning similar. Simple searches yielded their research methods and experimental steps, one by one. This is where the blood of a dragon made me a better teacher! 

Scientists in this story posed a question to themselves that was not easily "Google-able". They simply asked themselves how can certain animals eat things which are clearly full of bacteria and not get sick? They then took this question and began exploring different animals, ultimately leading them to great scavenger and hunter, the Komodo Dragon. Going deeper, they hypothesized their needed to be something in their blood, or somewhere inside of them, that killed these dangerous, bacteria filled, meats the Komodo Dragon was choosing to eat. Putting it all together they have taken a monumental step forward in their research by observing the world around them. 

Back in class, I redesigned my work to reflect their (the scientists) thought process. I re-worded my quests to be presented in two parts. Part 1, the introductory document which set the tone for the scenario. This helped the students get into the proper mindset of the game. It often contained clues buried within that would help them when they received part 2, clues such as location, surroundings and the like. Part 2, contained the actual task they had to complete. The actual task they needed to complete was not entirely obvious all the time, it needed to be pulled out via observation. It left for some interpretation, and that is what I wanted. I wanted students to read the task, piece together the details they discovered via a deeper level of observation and put it all together. Incredibly enough, students started to catch things I did not even notice I had hidden amongst the wording. Work quality and submission rates began to increase and overall, I began to receive work that was finally explored first rather than Googled first. In a truly unexpected twist, student would walk into class asking me if we were "questing today!?" I responded by asking them if they knew they were asking me for more work? Turns out they knew exactly what they were asking for, and were quite excited about it. Edu-win! 

So, that is how the blood of a dragon, unexpectedly challenged me to become a better teacher. One who himself became more observant in the end. 

What will your "dragon blood" be?

Until next time...

- Master Heebs

People often ask people, "Why did you become a ___ (insert profession here)". I was asked this question by the ASCD and asked to blog about it. Teaching is something I fell into but something that quickly became my life's passion. Hope you enjoy!

To best explain why I teach, I need to go back to the beginning …

As I sat in front of the TV in the early 1990s, it was clear to my young mind that school was going to be incredible. Fun, games, play time, friends, and so much more awaited me behind the tan colored doors of my local elementary school. When it was finally my time, I waited on a chair, at the end of my driveway, for nearly 25 minutes for the bus to take me to paradise. I arrived and was met by many different children and teachers. Upon entering my classroom, it was immediately time to play as I dove my hands into the water table and began to explore with my new friends. School was a joy; little did I know that joy was going to decline, and decline significantly.
I began to grow frustrated with the education system, as I progressed through school, getting older and supposedly wiser. There was less emphasis on fun and movement, and more on sit down and be quiet. My voice seemed silent in my classrooms despite the fact that it was, in fact, quite loud. The further I went along, the more I grew to dislike school. I only achieved well because I knew my parents held high expectations for me so I did not want to disappoint them. While I was not in school, I needed an outlet for my pent up energy and that is where sports became my passion. There was just something about having fun and working with different people that resonated with me, like my early years in class.
I believed I was destined for a career as a pro athlete, but in October of 2008 when I tore my ACL. Scouts decided to stay home and the letters never came. The dream of Pro athlete stardom had vanished and now, only 8 months to graduation, I needed to come up with a new plan.
Through the advice of a respected teacher, I began to connect the dots and shaped my new career path. I was going to become a teacher! Even more so, I was going to change how students viewed education. I wanted them to view education exactly as the day they arrived in the system, as a fun and engaging environment.  I thought it would be relatively easy to achieve this. Until my first practicum host teacher said, “You are going to fail as a teacher…”
Why? Was I too unprofessional or chronically late? Did I assess poorly or not care about my students?
No, I was having “too much fun in the classroom”.
I had a choice at this point, to give up on my goal of reshaping education or to push forward with it. Now, for those of you who do not know me, telling me I cannot do something is not the best deterrent – it is a motivator! Those words, which still echo is my head today, only added further fuel to the proverbial fire. This “mentor” was the epitome of why I believed schools needed change.
I believe every teacher should have to teach at least one year in an elementary class, because it will really open your eyes to the excitement and love of education in children that is normally lost later in life. Schools recognize, and even cater, to this by infusing a lot of play, imagination, and creativity in early grades. Sadly, and this is where my main goals arose from, as schools beyond the early years subsequently begin to remove the lessons focused on creativity and shift, rather suddenly, to educate for the standardized test scores.  This leads me to the big question – why do I teach?

I teach because I believe the system is both archaic and broken. Education should be about fun because when you are having fun, contrary to popular belief, you are in fact learning and engaged. Fun and play are innate in us! I want to re-engage our youth by infusing play back into our education system! Less sit down, listen, be quiet, do this worksheet, and more get up, get moving, get exploring, and get thinking.

I teach because I believe, although some argue it is not measurable, that education destroys creativity and promotes a system of like-minded thinkers. Looking at the problems we face in the world today, we do not need more like-minded thinkers, but out of the box, boundary pushing thinkers. Thinkers who look at problems through a lens we have not discovered yet. Not simply matching column A to B but trying to find that hidden column C that is out there. We need show students that their creativity is not only valued, but encouraged! We must grow and foster a sense of pride and meaning in the school system.

I teach because I believe there is too much emphasis on grades when, in reality, they do not tell the whole story. I want to show students that I see them more than just a numeral or letter based grade that sits beside their name on the report card or grade book. I want them to know that I understand them and that I will be there for them to help them become the person they dream they can be. I want my students to know I recognize their struggles and will help them through it.

So why do I teach? I teach because I know the system needs to be changed and our students need a voice. I teach because I was once a student and will forever be a student.

What do you think?

Why do you teach?

Have an incredible school year everyone!