Why am I working so hard at this? Things are going fine in Innovative Arts — lots of cool projects being made, plenty of excited students, a pretty cool setup. It seems like a pretty cool nice to settle in, make everything automatic, and let it ride.

But what if…

…students can have autonomy at an even higher level?

…we can get really excited about all the possibilities and pathways available someone with a little ambition.

…we learn just how easy it is to stand out with consistent effort and a little creativity

…we can teach how creativity can spring out of anywhere, like new grass in concrete cracks.

…how learning can be fun, engaging, and worth hours of effort.

…we learn how many new approaches to learning might be discovered with students leading themselves

…the way students interact with their other teachers can be changed by giving them the skills to customize their own path?

…students can be taught that they have the power to choose their own paths moving forward?

What if Innovative Arts will help develop some of the desperately needed jumps forward that are needed in our schools? What if my gut feeling is right and it has huge potential for showing a new vision of education? All of this leads me to believe that I need to keep working. The work feels never-ending and creatively exhausting… but someday it’ll be worth it.

I believe every one of the above statements are true. And it’s closer than we all think.

~ Peter