A Perplexing Epiphany

Today was a pretty easy-going day at school that started with my early morning class being ready and willing to get going.  Even though we were just doing some notes (with a video clip by John Green in it), we wound up having a great discussion on the merits of Buddhism and Hinduism that had nearly all students participating and the class overall was having a good time.  It seems as though this continued throughout the day with my regular and AP classes actively engaged in discussion and asking some really good questions.  I remembered the reading I did for Bain and looked at how class was going today and came to the realization that I really want to restructure the way I approach teaching.  I have already been attempting to move away from arbitrary grades and focusing more on content mastery, but I am struggling with getting away from the traditional test as the main indicator of understanding.  I am going to continue to look at changing my methods to try and replicate the direction of class today.  Haven't quite figured out what exactly I'm going to do, but I can't wait to get started!