Your Education Stories (for a Price)
It's suddenly in vogue to gather and tell stories as part of an organization's larger strategy to build an audience and effect change. On one level, I love this development -- indeed, I've been gathering people's stories about their most powerful learning experiences for years, which has resulted in a website, a radio story series, and even a book(proceeds of which do not go to me, by the way).
I've done this because I believe that before we can solve the riddle of how to provide every child with a great education, we need to develop a deeper understanding of what great teaching and learning really looks like -- and requires. Over time I've also reflected a lot on the core elements of a great story -- one that can inspire and edify -- and tried to apply those principles in the current 10-part video series A Year at Mission Hill. Like all things, it's a work in progress, but we're clearly onto something -- as the appeal of this Prezi attests.
Recently, I received an email from Michelle Rhee's organization, Students First, relating to an effort underway there to gather people's stories about why they choose to put students first. We're told that Michelle nodded along as she read "the same frustrations and motivations that drive me