Reflecting on when I felt the most enthusiastic about my own learning, my 9th grade United States history class immediately came to mind.  Our teacher never asked us to read textbooks and actually, he did not teach at all. He sent us to the library to research a pre-determined decade in history to discover notable people or events, such as a significant invention. The results of our research became what we used in his “history simulation”- a game designed to be played within the context of an imaginary economic system.

What my history teacher understood is that passive learning such as being lectured to, does not compare to allowing students to become responsible and active participants in their own learning. He also understood that learning and fun are not mutually exclusive.  I may not be able to recall every detail of a historic event, but because of his simulation-style “teaching”, I became engaged and interested in history itself, I learned to gain knowledge on my own, and experience using that knowledge in a meaningful way by playing a part in history myself through his “game”.  The skills I learned and being able to connect the dots between historic events and their consequences served me more than memorizing facts out of a textbook.  I wondered why couldn’t all or at least the majority of learning take place this way? Did a school exist that offered a student-driven approach with collaboration between students?