Less talk - More action

All of my blogging thus far has dealt with the readings. I feel remiss in not having written about my thoughts about my experiences at the Newark Museum. I'm loving the chance to tour the different galleries, learn about the various works of art, and truly experience object-based learning. In fact, I wish I had more time for exactly that. On Thursday I left the museum disappointed that we didn't have more time in the Ballantine House. The place is rich in history and brimming with stories to be told, connections to be made, information to be learned and perhaps even shared with my students. But, in under an hour, all too little of that was possible. I feel like our class is guilty of what we find so irritating in our students: focus on final products and grades over learning and process. I know the table-top exhibits are important, but they are not the end-all be-all of everything. I feel like we're missing the point. These exhibits, as I understand it, are supposed to be practice, a manifestation of a newly learned practice. After all, none of this is worth anything if we can't eventually make use of it in our classrooms. If, however, we spend hours ruminating about these final products we are missing out on the opportunity to learn about the process of setting up opportunities for student inquiry. What I appreciate most about our time with Kevin is the fact that he's not only clearly knowledgeable when it comes to his subject matter but he's also letting us in on HOW museum objects can be displayed. But if we don't get out into the museum to get a sense of what works and what doesn't we're no better off when it comes to trying to create object-based learning opportunities for our own students. Our table-top exhibits will be on display for mere moments; why squander this chance to gain life-long knowledge for something so ephemeral?