I wonder which is easier: igniting a spark or turning a spark into a flame into a fire?
When it comes to education we’ve got to do both. We’ve got to ignite a spark– even when the spark is already within our students. Then we have to turn the spark into a flame or a fire. We have to capture the flammable potential of the spark and turn it into something that gives light, that produces heat, and that can burn on its own.
Maybe one is harder than the other depending on the student, the subject matter, or the teacher. Maybe one is harder than the other for reasons that we’ll never know.
As educators reflect on the year that has come to a close and the year that is to come we can ask ourselves, did we ignite the spark? Did we turn the spark into a flame into a fire?