Falcon Finale: LA Student of the Year 2008
The students we are honoring here tonight have the answers. Good students usually do. In a classroom discussion, these are the people contributing answers. When classmates need help, good students help them find the answers. And of course the test scores indicate that these students have the CORRECT answers. That’s why we honor them, right? Well, if that were the only criterion for selecting the Language Arts Spotlight Award Winner, any number of the students who will trek across this stage tonight could win it. They’re all full of answers! But this year’s Language Arts Spotlight Award goes to a student who not only finds and presents correct answers, but also challenges herself, her classmates, and her teachers (or, at least this teacher) with QUESTIONS.
In a recent blog, she challenged the boys in the Honors English class to explain why the difference in height between girls and boys is such a big deal in school when it clearly doesn’t matter later on. Good question!
Last week as we finished a novel in class, she asked about a particularly cryptic and symbolic passage: “What did that mean, Mr. Thompson?” Good question! And the fact that I didn’t know the answer wasn’t as significant to me as the fact that this student was the only one who dared to ask.
Good students have the answers, but the answers are the easy part. There is no risk in showing off by always offering the correct answer, but questions are dangerous. Maybe they’ll think I’m dumb. Maybe everybody else already knows, and I’m the only one in the dark. Those for whom the flame of learning burns hottest are those with the courage to ask questions. They are the ones who challenge the rest of us to deeper understanding and appreciation of whatever we study. And this year’s Language Arts Spotlight Award Winner is just such a student.
So, who is it? You ask? Good Question! And this time I know the answer: Aubrey Taylor!
In a recent blog, she challenged the boys in the Honors English class to explain why the difference in height between girls and boys is such a big deal in school when it clearly doesn’t matter later on. Good question!
Last week as we finished a novel in class, she asked about a particularly cryptic and symbolic passage: “What did that mean, Mr. Thompson?” Good question! And the fact that I didn’t know the answer wasn’t as significant to me as the fact that this student was the only one who dared to ask.
Good students have the answers, but the answers are the easy part. There is no risk in showing off by always offering the correct answer, but questions are dangerous. Maybe they’ll think I’m dumb. Maybe everybody else already knows, and I’m the only one in the dark. Those for whom the flame of learning burns hottest are those with the courage to ask questions. They are the ones who challenge the rest of us to deeper understanding and appreciation of whatever we study. And this year’s Language Arts Spotlight Award Winner is just such a student.
So, who is it? You ask? Good Question! And this time I know the answer: Aubrey Taylor!
posted by MRT at 7:10 AM
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