curiousAdd to this the fact that I am a bit contrary by nature (you are shocked, I know, to know this about me), and you understand that sometimes the tangential road is a more productive one. What does this have to do with learning? I think the key word here is FREEDOM. My friend and colleague Donalyn Miller often uses the hashtag #letmypeopleread. In tnis age of scripted curriculum brought about by Common Core, teachers and kids are denied the chance to select reading material. If everyone needs to be on the same page at the same time in the same book are we not limiting the tangential thinking that might occur? I know some outside of education will see this as a good thing. But Jillian points out in her blog posting that sometimes these tangents prduce something worth pursuing.
As I was driving down the Pacific Coast Highway this past week, my BH and I shared a discussion about zigzagging our way from Point A to Point B. I made a wrng turn somewhere, and we discovered a lovely off-the-beaten path place to have lunch and watch the skies clear over the ocean. Granted that not all zigzagging or wrong turns are productive. But taking a "mistake" and looking for the silver lining in it might just be the most immportant thing we can do. Sometimes, on the tangents, we will find a place where there is wonder.