Reform education – one classroom at a time

Today is the big day of blogging for education reform in the U.S.

I crafted a much longer and more political post on my blog than this one will be.  That’s because this one is going to be much simpler – and maybe more powerful.

There is one key to reforming education – and it must happen one classroom at a time: INQUIRY!

Inquiry needs to be the norm in all classrooms in all content areas at all grade levels.

Inquiry is more than just a way to do science labs, though!

Inquiry means students are deeply engaged in learning with the focus of answering important questions of their own design.  Inquiry means student collaboration. Inquiry means genuine products for a real-world audience. Inquiry means involving the local community (or the world community) in what is going on in your classroom.

The best thing about inquiry methods being the center of education reform? They never become outdated!  Inquiry, at its very core, is adaptive.  It will always evolve to be relevant and current.  Why?  Because the questions that drive it come from the students!

When students are striving to answer questions that are relevant to their world, the content will never be outdated.  As long as the teachers are inquirers too, the rest will take care of itself.