What Teachers Can Learn From Skateparks

NY Times ran a story today about the closing of the Brooklyn Banks, a small hangout under the Brooklyn Bridge that became a world famous skateboarding park.

Check out this video of skater Mike Vallely talking about the history of the place and why it was so great. In a way I think it speaks volumes about the DIY ethic, and -- at least the way I grew up -- that ethic prevailed as the fundamental starting point for all endeavors: a) Yes, you can do it. b) Yes, you can do it yourself. c) The reason you can do it is because you are going to use what is already there in a new way to achieve your goals and express yourself. You are going to see the beauty in things that other people discard and you are going to use those things to empower yourself and your community.



At the end of the video, Vallely says that the Banks was the best skatepark in the world because it was never meant to be a skatepark. And there's a lot in that sentiment for us teachers to learn from. Kids don't learn just because you are teaching out of an educationally-approved textbook. Kids don't learn just because they are playing an "educational" video game. Kids only learn because they and their teachers dig in and find the transcendent value in the common material of this life and use creativity and passion to push their understanding to new levels.

Skate or die.