Celebrating Dot Day!

By Kerri Sosnowski, NIU STEAM Educator

Happy International Dot Day! Every year on September 15, millions of people across the globe participate in activities based on The Dot by Peter H. Reynolds. This delightful picture book written in 2003 illustrates the journey of Vashti, a student who believes she cannot draw. Her art teacher encourages her to “make a mark and see where it takes you.” Vashti responds with frustration, simply marking her paper with a dot. Her teacher silently encourages Vashti by displaying her anger induced dot for all to see.

Seeing her dot on display inspires Vashti to make a better dot and sets her on a mission to improve her drawing. In the process, she creates an entire art exposition comprised of dots which impresses a little boy who’s also convinced himself that he cannot draw. Vashti shares the encouragement she received from her teacher with the little boy.

The Dot is not only a story of perseverance and gaining confidence, but also the power of encouragement and patience. Her teacher, through patience and understanding, helps Vashti to see herself differently, which inspires a love of art and creating artwork. Vashti learns that what she initially saw as failure could be used as a steppingstone for improvement and mastery. This is one of the foundations of STEAM learning.

At NIU STEAM, we celebrate failure as a part of the iterative process of development that leads to innovation and discovery. Perseverance through failure is necessary, not only for STEAM education, but for all learning. How many times do we see students so afraid to fail that they do not even want to try? Stories such as The Dot help students see how persisting through their own discouragement and lack of confidence can lead to success, if they can muster up the courage to take that first step.

Celebrate International Dot Day with your own students or children. Check out our own lesson based on The Dot.