A Beautiful Risk...

What is beautiful?  One literal definition states "possessing qualities that give great pleasure or satisfaction to see, hear, think about, etc; delighting the senses and the mind". I believe most people would agree with this in an overall general way. However, what gives great pleasure to one person will be different to another. So what is beautiful in education?  Again this is different for everyone. My perspective beauty in education is from the viewpoint of a teacher.  I think it is beautiful that as humans we have the opportunity to learn from others. In a traditional classroom this usually beans that the students learn from the teacher. However, what if the beautiful part comes in when the student learns from himself and his peers. Or the teacher learns from her students. Or what if the classroom is a forum for curiosity and discovery to take place in whatever forms it appears. To me the beauty in education is the potential for such discovery and the light that comes into a student's eyes when he realizes he has just made that discovery.
But in order to provide the opportunity of curiosity and discovery there is risk. Sometimes the risk is minimal because the students are eager and open to content that is provided by the teacher. However, sometimes the risk is great and that is when the "beautiful risk" is created. I would love to be able to create an environment where my students are inquisitive and drive the lesson through their own discussion and questions and answers. In todays politically driven education system this is a great risk. What if the student doesn't learn what the "standards" have determined is important. What if the test is not mastered? How do we determine if the child has learned anything if we do not assess him based on a set of rules?  For me this is the risk. I believe that children can learn in a low-structure and highly creative environment and I believe they can master the skills necessary to guide them forward. This is what education is supposed to be about. My students will take the tests and they will show their skills in memorization and technique, however, the beautiful risk they will take is that they will also think for themselves and discover the parts of getting an education that "delight the senses and the mind"!