

Brian Cambourne lists response as a critical part of the learning process in his Conditions of Learning theory (1988), meaning that in order to learn anything truly, one needs to have a response to performance. Sometimes it's a grade (we see this in school.) Sometimes it's specific advice on how we did (we see this when we are coached in a sport, when we cook something for the first time, or when we drive too fast on the highway.) Sometimes the response comes from within (we see this in the sense of personal satisfaction or dissatisfaction after we do something important.)
But does this response last? How does it add to our learning?

The best celebrations are not the ones with the special snacks or the pinatas, but the celebrations that keep on teaching. If you have celebration bulletin boards where kids' work remains on display for weeks after a unit is over, the audience never goes away. It's funny how sometimes kids leave to go to the bathroom, and don't come back for a very long time, because they're reading each other's writing, or looking at each other's social studies projects! In an environment like that, celebrations are so much more real!


If we decide to put our feet up and relax after working really hard these last ten months, that is because we are enjoying a well-deserved rest. If we decide to do that, thinking about all we've accomplished, how we, along with our students, have grown and changed in our daily lives as teachers and learners, that's is truly a cause to celebrate!