Experienced Reflections
from Educators, Students and Community Members
–The following article originally appeared in Community Works Journal


Students Define Elements for Passionate Learning
by Helen Beattie Ed.D.

Twenty five students, ages 10 to 17, from seven schools throughout northeast and north central Vermont were clustered in six groups developing a visual representation of what they know as the key elements for passionate learning. The students took their work seriously because they were defining the benchmarks for future decision making for the Vermont Rural Partnership school-community teams These teams were charged with the responsibility to foster educational excellence in schools, in part by building strong school-community partnerships. School staff and community members took the students seriously as well, as they listened to their presentation of learning attributes, which once again affirmed the wisdom and insight of young people. This all took place one year ago, when new Rural Partnership grantees met for a two-day long orientation in Greensboro, Vermont.

We know that educational excellence begins with engaged, passionate learners. It therefore was important to explicitly define key components of passionate learning to provide the "acid test" for subsequent efforts. The activity began with students thinking about one time in their lives, be it at home or at school, where they felt passionate about learning. It might have been a singular instance when suddenly things all fell into place and they experienced the satisfaction of being able to move on with a new foundation of knowledge. Alternately, it might also have been a longer-term learning experience, where they couldn't wait to wake up in the morning to work on some project or skill they were mastering. Students shared their "moments", and as one might imagine, they varied widely. Participants were then asked to think of one key attribute or quality of that experience which made it so memorable for them. They wrote these attributes on individual pieces of sticky note pads, pooled them in one spot on the floor and sorted them.

Ultimately they pared them down into six primary attributes for passionate learning:

Challenge: Learning must challenge the person to go beyond what they currently know, and to take risk in the process.

Helping Relationships: Helping relationships, with teachers or other "superheros" in the lives of young people, have the critical element of caring which is essential to learning. Helping relationships include both being helped and helping others.

Enjoyment: Learning must include some element of enjoyment. This does not mean that hard work is not involved. In fact, students sighted some of their most enjoyable learning moments were the times when they worked the hardest.

Unknown Beginnings...Unknown Endings: Often learning is like getting on a track where you see the start but cannot seethe destination. What is important is getting in the race.

Action: Learning is most enjoyable when it includes some action or "doing" piece

Creative: Learning involves acquiring knowledge, hut knowledge without creativity is colorless and bland, like the unpainted portion of the world. Learning coupled with creativity is colorful and full of life.

The relationship of service learning and these fundamental components did not escape notice of school and community team members. Throughout the past year, the Vermont Rural Partnership schools have engaged in a variety of service-learning endeavors that embody challenge, creativity; action, unknown beginnings, helping relationships and enjoyment . For example, Cabot students are working with the local historical society to renovate the original town one-room school house; Miller's Run students studied their local water shed area from multiple perspectives, sharing conclusions at three town forums; and the Peacham School has established a 'Cultural Literacy' program, documenting the community's cultural heritage and traditions. The 'learning attribute" activity, and the months following, have again affirmed the capability of young people to be active participants in shaping their world. Their desire to foster passionate learning by necessity brings them out of the classroom, into their communities and also pulls communities into their classrooms. Through building or shaping "wall-less" schools that foster a strong student voice, educational excellence and life-long learning becomes a reality.