Throughout Time

Tonight during our literature circle, Rebecca brought in an illustration that really stood out to the class, especially Dr. Kat. The picture depicted scientists, historians, artists, and mathematicians from different time periods all coming together in one place. This picture was very powerful. It represents the notion that we, as learners, build on knowledge that others have constructed over time. Not only do we look toward the future, and what we need to learn and where we need to be, but we also rely on the past. There are so many influential people that we draw upon to build new knowledge. 

Isn't it crazy to think that this could be our students one day? Another thing that stood out to me from today's readings, was the idea that we could have the next influential scientist in our classroom one day. We should treat every student as the "next big thing," and assume that they all hold an important and meaningful place in the world of science, math, and literature. We should never underestimate a student. Not only will we have an enormous impact on their lives, but they will have an enormous impact on our lives, and maybe even the lives of others, assuming that we could have the next researcher, scientist, or writer as a student, that could be pushing the boundaries and discovering new things when they are older. 

Knowledge is such a crazy thing. Why is it so important to learn everything and discover new things? Why is school so important? I wonder if this is just a social construct sometimes, but then I think back to my own yearning to learn and become a better person. I believe as people, we are naturally always going to be "students," wanting to learn and take in more information and perfect more skills than we had the day before.