Elenisa Vasquez

When I noticed this book was blowing up on Twitter, I just had to see for myself what was going on in, "Empower: What Happens When Students Own Their Learning" by John Spencer and A.J. Juliani. I downloaded it to my Kindle, dug in and immediately identified with so many of the ideas I was reading about. In the book we are cautioned that lessons that empower our students won't be easy or perfect on the first try. At first, the process may look a bit messy or a bit noisy but that should not discourage us from empowering our students. It gets better! As I read, I reflected on my teaching and especially on one unforgettable moment. I was taken  back to a time when I was teaching a few years back. I was doing a collaborative social studies project with my 4th graders. I allowed them choose their topic, and gave them a few choices on final products. I was excited about it- the kids were excited about it- and so we started to dig in. Each group was working in differen...

The Minecraft City Council Building As I was heading out to the grocery store, I stopped by my kids' room to see if they needed me to bring them anything. The trio was hanging out, all playing Minecraft together. They had already left me a list downstairs, and as I turned to go, my kids went on to tell me that they had created a City Council in their Minecraft world. Intrigued, and surprised by this, I sat down, grabbed my notes, and asked them to tell me more. My kids, who all share a world, were in the habit of all doing their own thing. Each would build whatever they wanted to his/her taste. Each one would spawn new animals or other additions as they pleased. Eventually, they noticed that things were getting a bit chaotic, and that they needed a way to come to agreements on what they were and weren't  allowed to do. In a nutshell, the sheep made them do it! "The sheep kept eating all my grass!" said my middle daughter. "Yeah, and sometimes I ...