Just Do It (post #3 of 3)

This is the third, and final post I have planned after being inspired from the introduction of Phil Knight's memoir, Shoe Dog. You can read the first two posts here -
Just Do It (post #1 of 3) (linked)
Just Do It (post #2 of 3) (linked)

"Few ideas are as crazy as my favorite thing, running. It's hard. It's painful. It's risky. The rewards are few and far from guaranteed. When you run around an oval track, or down an empty road, you have no real destination. At least, none that can fully justify the effort. The act itself becomes the destination. It's not just that there's no finish line; it's that you define the finish line. Whatever pleasure or gains you derive from the act of running, you must find them from within. It's all in how you frame it, how you sell it to yourself." (p.5)

Again. What does this have to do with education? It has everything to do with education.

I read that passage, and I think student voice. I think about the need that we, as educators, have to empower our students. I think about implementing things such as Genius Hour, or Google's 20% Time, or Passion Projects, etc. I think about giving our students the autonomy to own their own learning. I think about these things because this is what I want for my kids. And if it's something I want for my kids, then it's something I want for all kids.

When we love something, we'll climb mountains to get it. When we truly desire something, from within, we'll do more than we ever thought was possible. When we are self-motivated, our commitment level is unmatched.

We have to continue to evolve. We have to flip the script. The education of a child should never be something done to them, but instead something they are a part of. Something they own.