Getting our kids as excited about education as they are about fashion...

"We educators should be envious of the intensity of observation and imagination associated with students’ fascination with fashion." This quote from the Wong, Hendriksen article really struck a chord with me and made my mind go immediately to my class and what this meant for them. I teach first grade, and believe it or not they are fashion conscious already! I have one student who comes in constantly showing off their new "hip" shoes or pants. I know they have an older sibling, and that this plays a role because those in my class who are the older sibling rarely display the same dedicated to fashion attitude. I can say that all of them have some type of recognition for what fashion is and how to have some. The truth is, they do care about it, and as they grow older they tend to care about it more. If you were to compare school attitude and fashion attitude, there is an inverse relationship with one another as they get older. Students in kindergarten have an excited attitude towards learning. They are interested and curious. Their fashion sense, on the other hand isn't really a top priority. A senior in high school tends to have a less excited view on education, but is definitely aware of what is in style and what isn't. I think a great goal for all educators would be to keep the excitement and imagination throughout the educational years. Keep the experiences and lessons compelling for the students so that they don't get "bored". Fashion is constantly changing, and teaching styles should too. Don't teach reading the same boring way day after day. Kids need excitement and mystery. They like to have to figure things out. They can know that reading is at 9:30 every day, but they don't need to expect to do x on Monday, y on Tuesday, Z on Wednesday etc. Give them different activities. Change activities based on your students. One thing that I found very interesting when I first started teaching was that someone said "It must be easy after the first year because you can just reuse your lesson plans." "HAHA!" I laughed. Can I use some ideas and perhaps things that I made, sure, but the lessons need to change with the class. One class might be more interested in one thing, while another likes something completely different. I use their likes to fuel my ideas, and in doing so, hopefully keep them compelled to learn and enjoy the design of my lesson. I think it is important to keep the fire burning throughout all of their educational experiences the way the fashion industry keeps us interested until we too old to care.