Three Words Wednesday

I’m at The Connections Conference at Sidwell Friends School. Today I’m exploring the educational use of iPads under the direction of Melissa Scott. we are following the model of DS106.

We each have tasks for the next hour to work on a project. I chose a Writing Assignment (duh) which I’m going to morph a bit. I chose Three Word Wednesday.

Here is my project: THREE WORD WEDNESDAY WRITING

Here are my words for the day:

Fog; noun: A thick cloud of tiny water droplets suspended in the atmosphere at or near the earth’s surface that obscures or restricts visibility; an opaque mass of something in the atmosphere; something that obscures and confuses a situation or someone’s thought processes; verb: Cover or become covered with steam; bewilder or puzzle (someone).

Lenient; adjective: (Of punishment or a person in authority) permissive, merciful, or tolerant.

Struggle; verb: Make forceful or violent efforts to get free of restraint or constriction; strive to achieve or attain something in the face of difficulty or resistance; engage in conflict; make one’s way with difficulty; noun: A forceful or violent effort to get free of restraint or resist attack; a determined effort under difficulties; a very difficult task.

While I respect the traditional definitions of all of these words. I wanted to find a common theme for all three words and I found it locally in the space that I am in; Middle School.

In middle school our children (and we at their age) find themselves in the constant cognitive fog. They find themselves desperately seeking autonomy and limits simultaneously. They seek action and serenity. They seek freedom to make mistakes and leniency when they have failed.

Middle School is a constant struggle between finding your identity and joining the crowd. It is a time where right and wrong are often blurred beyond recognition. Where the frenetic pace of life goes completely against the needs for calm and structure.

So the synthesis of my three words, fog, lenient, and struggle fit directly into the common theme of that great messy space called Middle School.