by Martha Smith
If I could do anything, no limitations, setting all of my life obligations aside, I would go back to school. Law school, divinity school, art school, more science… you name it. And I would travel. I’m confident that I am not the only one who loves to learn and would fill my days learning in every way possible. Education has been my ticket to life-long learning. And I think it is a safe bet that most people are truly engaged in their lives when they are learning. In my work, kids teach me something every day. Teaching is a learning endeavor because what happens in my chemistry classroom is dependent on the students – their learning process is my teacher.
“What have you learned recently?” is one of REDI Lab’s favorite questions to ask of students, of educators, and of each other. Answers range from something specific a student learned in class to something that life has taught them through an event, interaction, or experience. And it is a question I ask myself frequently. If I can’t come up with an answer, it is a sign that I need to step into something new, or change the way I am thinking, being, or doing.
In education, we long for immediate positive feedback. We want to see an “ah-ha” moment happen. We want to hear “Oh, that is why…!” When a student tells me “I didn’t think I would like chemistry but now it is my favorite class!” I feel that immediate impact. When a REDI Lab family mentions that dinner-table discussions are now different because their student can’t stop talking about their REDI Lab project or the “no easy answer” question we contemplated that day, we bask in the glow and, maybe, pat ourselves on the back. Good job us!
So what have I learned recently? We begin most days in REDI Lab reminding the students and ourselves of our core belief: that everyone has ideas worth sharing and we want REDI Lab to be a space in which those ideas marinate, evolve, and turn into something that the world needs to hear and that will have an impact on a community, no matter how big or how small. And in some cases, students don’t believe us. Their life experience has taught them that their ideas aren’t worthy and the world doesn’t want to listen. School, for the most part, hasn’t asked them for their ideas, their questions, or their solutions. In the REDI Lab, we work to break those beliefs. We ask students to think bigger and put their huge ideas out into the world.
What we ask is not easy. It is, in some cases, in direct contrast to most messages that schools communicate to students. This is true for all students, especially for the students that we work with beyond the CA community. They don’t know us, initially don’t trust us, and have no context for this REDI Lab thing. Partnerships with Denver Housing Authority and Girls Athletic Leadership School have given us the chance to live in our “yes, &…” ethos.
What have I LEARNED recently through this work? In order for students to innovate fearlessly, solve creatively, and transform communities, we must create belonging and build trust. That means showing, not just telling, who we are and how we will show up for them. We must remind them that their ideas are what matter here.
My answer to REDI Lab’s favorite question? Recently I’ve learned that the impact of REDI Lab may likely not happen in those 6 weeks, or in that trimester, or in that semester. And if that is the measure of the worth of this work, it will be deemed a marginal success, at best. The work of REDI Lab and my role in it cannot solely be focused on immediate impact. I’ve learned that if I truly believe that a REDI Lab experience is a ticket to lifelong learning, I have to accept that lifelong impact is the ultimate goal. And I won’t, in many cases, see it. We may have a gathering of REDI Lab alumni and hear that their choice of a graduate school program mirrors REDI Lab in many ways and that they would have never applied had they not done REDI Lab. We may partner with an alumnus for a summer internship or with another around an idea they have for a collaborative learning community project (see previous alumni stories in previous Yes, &… newsletters).
For hundreds of others, the impact is that they had time and space during their school experience in which a group of adults believed in their ideas, listened, encouraged, pushed, and supported their thinking. And that this group of adults said, over and over, that your ideas matter here and they will impact the world outside this space. And that those words, and that belief, sunk into their cells, their brain, their heart. Maybe so deep that they will not discover it for years. I’ve learned that immediacy is not the goal, but helping young people finding their voice is. What have you learned recently? If you can’t think of something, and if you can, come by REDI Lab sometime! Because you have ideas worth sharing that will make an impact!