The tower of opportunity is a visual metaphor that I've used for many years in the classroom. It's very important for my students to understand the purposes of their learning, so they can learn the meaning of their work. I read a wonderful book at the beginning of my career called, "Why Do I Have to Learn This?" by a man named, Dale Parnell. In the book, Parnell describes seven life roles that every one of us occupies in our life. Roles such as; worker, consumer, citizen, leisure participant, et cetera. I was trying to find a way to bring those roles into my classroom to provide meaning and context to the classroom learning. So my architect friend helped me prepare a seven story tower, where each floor represented each one of the life roles. Then on the other side, there are three examples of each role. Each role is written on a door with a doorknob. The message to the kids is, that each door is literally the key that opens doors. The harder you work in school and the more you learn, the more doors you can open for yourself and the more options you have in life. I think that is the message that kids need to know; by committing themselves to academic pursuits, they open up a lot of options for themselves as they get older. Starting in Middle School, High School, opening up opportunities for College as they are ready to enter the workforce.