Active Learning VS. Passive learning

     I really enjoyed reading the Donut House article by Rebecca Powell and Nancy Davidson. It really resonated with me after just having completed my research on ADHD students in the classroom. In the beginning of the article when they are describing a teacher who is unsuccessfully trying to get students interested in a bland literacy activity, I though of ADHD students and how they struggle to focus. Even students who have no disability at all are likely to have a hard time connecting with a lesson that is not relevant or exciting to them. Unfortunately I often see this type of teaching in practice. The students who are not paying attention are considered the problem. I would like to think of it as a teacher problem. If the students aren't engaged, what does the teacher need to do differently?
    The donut hole learning experience is a good example of what a teacher can do differently to engage students in their own learning. Rather than telling the students what they should know, with "situated literacy," the teacher provides opportunities for students to connect what they are learning with the real world.
    I was struck by the section where it talks about how traditionally, at-risk students, who need extra help to learn, are given more of the kind of work that they are failing to be successful with. It seems that these students would be very lucky to overcome the "schooled learning" and develop an enjoyment of reading and writing. In many cases unfortunately, I think the education process is setting the student up to reject literacy, when with a little creativity it might be possible to turn a literacy learning experience around.