Today was one of the first days of our TEDx workshop with students who submitted proposals back in December to be part of our event at the end of May. Today's workshop was about finding the "Big Idea" or the "Heart" of our speeches. For example, what do you want the take away to be? What will be the mission of your particular speech? 

As I learned today, digging deep takes time. In fact, for some of the students, we sat and discussed and probed their idea for twenty minutes until we got to a great place. 

Two things I learned today. Time in the classroom limits thinking and the ability to really probe student thinking. So often this goes by the wayside, because we have to "do that" or "finish this." Secondly, there is nothing that replaces deep discussion like authentic discussion. And authentic discussion takes time. 

One of my students was set on doing a open until she listened to the probing and questioning of the other speeches. When we got to her idea, she threw it out the window and proposed a new one. She posed this question which I found profound, "My mom always says she is going to go to the spa to relax herself. She has been saying that for the past year and a half. She still has never gone to the spa." What actually is TIME? Is going to the spa quitting?

I will not reveal anymore of her thoughts here as they are going to be in her upcoming speech. However, when she spoke to both of those questions I sat back and smiled and just thought "Wow." Here is a life event that sparked an idea and now she is actually thinking about why she was thinking that particular question. 

This, is true teaching. This is finding your voice. This is thinking about patterns in life and why they are what they are. 

Nothing is more exciting when the thinking is the voice of a child.