"The journey is better than the inn," said Cervantes . When I first read that quote I wasn't sure what the Frenchman meant. Every time I've been on a long trip, I couldn't wait to get to the Motel 15 or whatever, no matter how many roaches I'd do battle against. However, the answer dawned on me the the other day in class.

We were discussing Gary Paulson's Canyons and pondering the themes. One student hit the proverbial nail on the head by saying that it was a story about growing up. Brennon, the protagonist, went through all sorts of struggles to grow into a man. His journey was the greatest thing that happened to him. The next day was the TAKS test so I ventured to ask them, "What you've learned here in my English class... is it all for the TAKS test or is there something greater?" The kids paused. I had taught them that the final goal of my class is that they would learn to read, write, think and change the world. Finally, one admitted that scoring high on the TAKS was most important.

Then, today, I showed the documentary Paper Clips. It is about a middle school in Tennessee who began collecting paper clips as a symbol of the 6 million Jews who were murdered. The project became a worldwide sensation and now those kids lead tours through their school's Holocaust museum. These kids studied the holocaust to take tests but the journey of learning took them so much further than a mere passing grade. Their journey was truly better than the inn.