Make/Hack/Play

This week we were assigned to watch Logan LaPlante’s TED Talk  on “Hack schooling Makes Me Happy” and read Bud Hunt’s blog post on “Centering on Essential Lenses: Make/Hack/Play.” Each had a fascinating perspective on life, creativity and what makes us happy.

LaPlante made some good points when he stated that we don’t make learning how to be happy and healthy in our schools.  He continued that a lot of kids are just wishing to be happy and health and many parents just assume that their children are happy and in reality they are not. He shared eight tips  from Dr. Walsh’s Therapeutic Lifestyle Changes that are important: exercise, diet and nutrition, time in nature, contribution and service, relationships, relaxation and stress management and religious and spiritual involvement. I found these tips very important in my own life and want to incorporate them into the classroom. LaPlante continued to share what his life is like since his mom took him out of  a public school and he explained how his learning has continued. He described his “hack schooling” thinking. When we think of hacking, negative thoughts arise, but LaPlante’s see hacking as people who challenge and change the system to make them work differently, its a mindset. He shared that his learning involves taking advantage of the vast opportunities from his community, friend and family.  His learning is flexible, and his main goals are that he is happy, healthy and his creativity are a propriety. I can see  how the “hack schooling” mindset work in my future. As a teacher, our classrooms are filled with diverse learners, and I need to find hacks that will help my students so they can learn and be all they can be.

Photo CC By: Praveen Kumar

The blog reading continued on with LaPlante viewpoints and shared how we can use make/hack/play as lenses. When we make things, we learn new things. As simple as that sounds, our learning grows when we make sense of new situations and new things. Both Hunt and LaPlante share the same views on hacking and how the word is worth reclaiming. When we use the tool of hacking, we are finding value and what is important to us and how we can improve something. Playing could be an area where you make something or hack something. The part that struck me most was when Hunt said when we play we may discover parts of yourself that have gone to sleep or have never been awake.I have found myself to let the play part of my life go or become less. I usually put play last on list of things, because I either have homework or housework. This is an area where I want to work on.

Photo CC By: Fabrice Florin