Learn Like a Pirate by Paul Solarz

Learn Like a Pirate by Paul Solarz

In Learn Like A Pirate, Paul Solarz adapts his beliefs around creating a student-led classroom to Dave Burgess' popular Pirate model. Paul's adaption of the acronym really speaks to his beliefs about education and his personal approach.

                   P - Peer Collaboration

                   I - Improvement Focus vs. Grade Focus

                   R - Responsibility

                   A - Active Learning

                   T - Twenty-First Century Skills

                   E - Empowerment

From the acronym you can see how he is putting the focus on students rather then teaching. Everything presented in the book is about moving his students forward to be more reflective, confident, and prepared to make decisions.

This is a book I am going to need to read several times as I feel there are many steps to creating a more student-led classroom. I did like the way Paul explained his thinking behind why he took a particular approach and also how those approaches developed over time. I feel like I have been given several entry points to start moving towards my own student-led classroom. There are some definite ideas I can incorporate right away and some that may take me more time. I am going to start small and build over time.

If this book seems interesting to you, check it out.

Happy reading!

James