"Annie, use your telescope...." Jack's Mannequin

I love that song....

"Annie, use your telescope"....  It has become a sort of mantra for me.  Employed at those moments when I look wistfully at something I wish to happen.  Something that certainly could happen, given the proper circumstances, given a little push, given the kiss of kismet - it could happen.

I had an "Annie, use your telescope" moment last weekend at Syracuse University at their "iSchool" - on the ground floor, they house their "collaboratories".  Rooms full of workstations where, apparently, young men and women, intent on embarking on entrepreneurial paths begin the journey by mastering technology skills in a collaborative fashion.

The halls of the "Collaboratory" space were covered in creative manifestos like the ones to the left and below.  As we embark on our iPad initiative, I was absolutely smitten with the notion that this could be our future.  An educational setting that would embrace failure as an opportunity to succeed.  Think about how incredibly freeing it would be if you were not afraid to fail.  Think about the risks you might  be willing to take if you could "fail" and not be viewed a failure.  Today's learning environments generally revolve around "success" - successfully demonstrating mastery of a skill.  Most children adapt quite well to this environment and become "successful" at school. They are smart enough to decode the formula they need to follow to succeed.  Day in and day out, the employ the formula, rack up the "successful" grade and move on.  Often, these same "successful" students will tell you that they are bored, that school is boring and that they dislike most of their classes. This should not come as a great surprise- after all, most of us don't really enjoy mundane, repetitive activities.  Most of us prefer those opportunities that allow us to follow our bliss.  It is heartbreaking though, to think that these bright and creative minds have lost that zest for learning, that desire to step out bravely and go the extra mile to truly learn something new.  That they are content to meet the expectations of the rubric, attain the grade and call it a day.

How fabulous would it be if part of the outcome of our iPad initiative was a fresh look at how students learn.  I hope that as we go forward, we can begin to embrace some of the ideas captured on the "manifestos" of the Innovation Studios.  Let's try.  Let's take small steps and try.   I think if we do, the risks are minimal and the rewards may be great.  If we can embrace an environment that views stumbling as "important", we can begin to free our students of the fear of failure.  And if they are not afraid to fail, imagine what they may succeed in accomplishing.