The Brass Ring

A blog about education and about technology and about how they sometimes meet. The Brass Ring is an old reference to carousels in the early part of the 20th century. If you grabbed a Brass Ring while spinning around you got a prize. With me The Brass Ring holds these ideas:

• Teachers know when a student has “got it”, is engaged and excited.
• Students who latch onto a powerful idea in one subject often carry that motivation into other areas
• Sports and the Fine Arts often offer great examples of students who “grab the Brass Ring”
• To grab the Brass Ring means showing authentic achievement as well as being self-reflective about what you are doing.
• Let’s postulate that everyone has a “Brass Ring”. It is about life more than just school. How can schools with the possible aid of technology help all students find their passion?

For me this is what education has to hold uppermost in mind. Recently I visited with one of the 30% of American students who did not graduate from high school. She said “school is just not for me.” This makes you sad and puzzled. I have taught in a private international school in Hong Kong for over 20 years. Virtually 100% of all students go to solid 4 year programs at top universities. Technology often guided them in a direction, even the few “gamers” who actually went on to write video games.

In this blog, I’ll be looking for examples and places where teachers and students working with technology reach for the real goal of education, the Brass Ring of purpose, passion and proficiency.