Personal Relevance changes everything. You want something bad enough, you will make it happen. That is the story of Caine's Arcade. Caine loves arcades. So much so, that during a long summer of hanging out in his dad's auto-part's shop Caine created his own arcade, out of cardboard boxes. Not only does he create a great shop but he uses his great marketing skills to attract customers. He is persistent even though no one comes. He continues to build and hope. He mans his shop diligently, until one day he gets a customer. This customer, first buys a fun pass, then decides to do more. Through some crafty internet use, he invites a flashmob to visit Caine's arcade, where so many people show up that they wait for up to 4 hours to get a chance to play.
What can we learn from this for education? First, personal releveance is absolutely essential for learning. Scholars will invest in what they care about. As educators, we must finds ways to connect our students to the learning content or better yet, allow the students to create content understanding in their own lives. Second, there are moments when we as educators can illuminate the greatness of a student. It may be a facebook flashmob, or as simple as a note or call home. We have the power to allow our students to shine. When we use that power, real learning happens, learning that enlightens the mind and empowers the heart.
In this digital age, we must create learning opportunities that allow for real relevance and personalization and allow for each of our students to have authentic global conversations.
This story continues. See the next post for what happens. This one boy, his interest and a filmmaker in a teaching moment, started a global phenomena.
"Caine's Arcade." YouTube. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Oct. 2015.
What can we learn from this for education? First, personal releveance is absolutely essential for learning. Scholars will invest in what they care about. As educators, we must finds ways to connect our students to the learning content or better yet, allow the students to create content understanding in their own lives. Second, there are moments when we as educators can illuminate the greatness of a student. It may be a facebook flashmob, or as simple as a note or call home. We have the power to allow our students to shine. When we use that power, real learning happens, learning that enlightens the mind and empowers the heart.
In this digital age, we must create learning opportunities that allow for real relevance and personalization and allow for each of our students to have authentic global conversations.
This story continues. See the next post for what happens. This one boy, his interest and a filmmaker in a teaching moment, started a global phenomena.
"Caine's Arcade." YouTube. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Oct. 2015.