Tap, Tap, Tap-a-roo

We started our two week problems-based unit on the Tap Project. The kids were brainstorming today about their research and presentations and they had some wonderfully big dreams. They talked about getting the media involved so that more people could know about the world water crisis and they're eager to get out there and come up with ways to raise money. It was beautiful to hear them so excited and to see the interconnectedness of it all. One student thought we could get HyVee to donate food to have a awareness night for parents and community, another student wants his mom to come in and share about PR, which is her job, so that we can do the best possible presentations. Other students plan to pen letters to Oprah, the President, anyone who might listen and take action. They care. A lot. Many have never thought of themselves as rich or powerful but we had some wonderful dialogue about the power and privilege they have simply by being born in the United States and how literacy can be a tool to change the world. Many of them were shocked to find out that there are illiterate pockets of they world. They cannot fathom a life without education. I am going to love the next two weeks. These discoveries and conversations are the things teaching is made of.