There Are Always Options

The saying “when life gives you lemons make lemonade” came across my social media feed twice yesterday. Each time I thought:

Really?! Is that all I can do? I like lemonade but are there no other options?

Students Present Work in Interesting Ways
This saying made me think about student work. So often students choose to present their work as a slideshow or poster. Though there is often nothing wrong with a slideshow or poster is there sometimes a better medium for their audience? Or if all the audience sees are slideshows and/ or posters, how will your message stand out?

As we get ready to embark on our PYP Exhibition, this question weighs on me as the ICT Integrator – are teachers and students aware of the myriad of opportunities technology affords students for sharing ideas? In the next few weeks we will be exploring iMovie as a class and then discussing other options for sharing. I hope to follow the students’ lead and help them share their work in interesting ways. We don’t all have to take the easiest route. It might require a little more thought about the options and a little more work to execute them but wouldn’t a whole buffet of presentations be more interesting than just lemonade?

Faculty Seek Creative Solutions
Similarly, all workplaces have their challenges. As Faculty I think we too need to look for alternative solutions to issues. Like menu planning and recipe sharing, I think we should brainstorm possible options together, share ways we might make them happen an then work together to make them happen. By working collaboratively we expose ourselves to new ideas and new ways of doing things – even if we decide in the end that what we want is plain lemonade at least we will have considered other options.