"Wise Teachers Make Learning A Joy"
-Chinese Proverb
Assignments:
Read the introduction and through page 11 of the text.
Please reflect on any ahas or main points on this weeks readings.
Share what you are already doing in your classrooms or daily lives that foster a "Fun-damental" Attitude.
After going over the Pop Quiz on pages 10 and 11 reflect on your personal results.
Click on comments to add your thoughts, feelings and ideas
Please reflect on any ahas or main points on this weeks readings.
Share what you are already doing in your classrooms or daily lives that foster a "Fun-damental" Attitude.
After going over the Pop Quiz on pages 10 and 11 reflect on your personal results.
Click on comments to add your thoughts, feelings and ideas
8 comments:
Well, the text book is interesting. But, in the introduction and pages 1-11, it seems the authors think they have the answer to all of our teaching problems. I am skeptical because I am not an overtly humorous person. (Doesn't sound nice, does it?) The before and after examples were just too extreme. Many of the quiz questions were too black and white. One student may view a teacher as easy-going and humorous, while another may be put off by the laid-back approach and silly remarks. I also think there's a time for fun in the classroom and then there's a time for "imparting information" althought not to gain power.
I went through all the questions on the quiz but for many of them I felt I was somewhere in the middle.
There were a few AHAs. I have been one of those teachers who was remembered by former students. I think students remember former teachers for a variety of reasons, most of all because they knew their teacher cared about them. That care can be communicated in a lot of ways, making learning enjoyable/fun is one of them.
Reading the intro - pg. 11 reminded me of the frustration many teachers were feeling when I quit to stay home with my son. Although I loved to teach, there were many more challenges in the classroom in addition to less planning time due to other mandatory activities. Reading the material in this book is re-energizing and motivating to me and I'm sure it would be/or is for others. However, it is not the one answer to a perfect teaching experience. Instead, this book is a great jumping off point to keep my teaching fresh and to help get me out of ruts. It can help me focus on what I can control which is how I teach my kids.
Although I am all for energy, humor, and creativity in the classroom and at home (which I try to do), I agree with the comment by Anderclub4 that every student does not view humor/enerizing activities in the same way. Our priority is to know our kids and teach to their learning styles. I taught 1st graders and had CD, LD, an autistic and a hearing impaired child in the room most of the school day. Therefore, I had to really think about my approach to a lesson (which would affect the usage of some of the activities in this book). At times I had to watch how much enthusiasm I exhibited, the speed at which I spoke, visual aids, etc., etc. because some of the kids could not follow, understand or could become agitated. It's a fine line. So while a lot of the activities are great and can be adapted, they aren't always the the right choice for every student.
However, I found that with all the various ability levels in the class, consistent smiles, pats on the backs, individual attention along with energizing activities at the right times worked to create a cohesive group. One example of something I did at school with all the kids as well as with my son (& would adapt it to my special needs kids) is to react to the words "I can't!" When I heard those words, I repeated them a little louder to get the child's attention but with a light-heartedness in my voice and a smile. I would go on to tell them with energy that "I don't know those words. Give it a try, you can do it, give it your best effort..." etc. They usually would smile or laugh but they also knew I was serious and had confidence in them!
When I took the quiz, I also found that I could answer 'yes' on both sides of the page for some of the questions. I agree that they were too black and white.
As a child I remember laughing often with my brothers or friends. We would just be acting silly and then we would get laughing so hard that we would be crying. The more we tried to stop laughing, the harder it was! I miss those days and I don't think I have laughed so hard since. Sure, I laugh, but not the true, "coming from your belly" laugh! Children can laugh like that and no one sees a problem with it. As adults, it is not too often we can act like kids. Everyone seems so uptight and stressed out all the time. People are always rushing here and there and it doesn't seem like a lot of people take time out for themselves. I don't see any harm in acting like a kid once in a while. I think it is healthy to have a really good laugh.
One of the things I thought was interesting in the beginning of the book was when the author said that teachers who had attended his workshop were anxious to bring more aliveness into their classrooms and to teach using more laughter, play and joy. I have attended a few workshops that I thought had great ideas. I told myself that I would use some of them in my own classroom. Well, to be honest, I never really got around to many of them. New ideas/lessons take time to prepare and I never seem to be able to find that time. I do think that bringing laughter into the classroom would not take too much time to prepare though. When the time is right, we just need to do it.
I do bring laughter into my classroom at least once a day. If my students are being really good and working hard I will try to do something fun with them. Sometimes it is just letting a few of them tell a joke. It just livens up the day and the kids really enjoy being able to laugh.
The Pop Quiz that I took on pages 10 and 11 was interesting. I did have quite a few more true answers on the Laughing side, but I also agree that the two sides were very extreme.
The first thing that made me take a step back and think from the text was the idea of over 500 teachers attending a workshop. That's one big workshop! That's unbelievable, amazing and exciting to think about...I do believe teachers are always interested in livening up their classroom.
I'm also a bit hesitant/reluctant(like a few others) to believe the complete 360 that occurred form some those teachers changes in their classroom.
At the end of the introduction it mentioned the idea that learning and laughter go hand-in-hand, I do feel this is true and know I need to keep this an ultimate focus in my classroom.
The quiz was interesting....don't really know how I want to perceive the results.
While reading the introduction it got me thinking about some of the teachers I had in school. You remember the fun ones but you also remember the ones that weren't so fun.
The ones I remember as the fun ones weren't all fun and games all the time. They made learning fun in such a way that you didn't think of it as work or something you had to do just to do it but more of an adventure. When you finished with a unit I would look back and realize we did do a lot of work and gained knowledge about the subject.
When I'm teaching I catch myself using some of the same techniques my favorite teachers used way back in the 70s. They still work!!
About the quiz, I too was a bit suprised at some of the responses you had to pick from. They made you think a little about your attitude toward teaching and toward students. I hope it helps me slow down and realize how my words and actions can affect a student's learning.
I just read john l's comment. I also remember a few teachers who were not all fun and games but they made school a place I looked forward to go. I think there are VERY few teachers who are talented in this way. They just have a special quality that cannot be learned.
This is the second time writing this blog as it just didn't take. I think I'll copy it this time just in case.
After reading the FOREWORD by Steve Allen, I thought too about the fun teachers I have had in the past. I had some great teachers and when I look in the past, the ones that made really engaged me are the ones that I remember the most. When I think back to what I learned, it's all a blur but I have these snap shots of good times and my teachers' faces. I'm not remembering what they said or taught, heck I could hardle remember what they were teaching long enough for the test, but I'm remembering how they made me feel.
I have taught in an institution for adjudicated delinquents for 4 years, high school ED/LD, elementary ED, and elementary LD before I ever taught PE. I had contact with some pretty challenging students but there were never any students that I didn't like. Not one. Now, teaching PE is a dream and I still feel the same way about all of my students. I love to watch them play and have fun. In our school, we do lunch buddies. Students will ask if they can do a lunch bunch with me and we usually have a group of about 5 or 6 kids and me all eating together. It is fun to listen to their stories and get to know them better. I hope they feel that I truly care about them.
As far as the quiz goes, I was really upset by reading the comments to the right. It was very distasteful to me and if I ever feel that way, it's time for me to apply somewhere else!
The Pop Quiz helped me to see that while teaching I did foster a laughing classroom. It also revealed to me how much I had changed over the years. When I started teaching I took a lot of things way too seriously. I'm not sure if it was experience or teaching middle school that gave me back my classroom sense of humor.
I believe that there is a fine line between a laughing classroom and a chaotic classroom. It takes practice and a good relationship with your students to maintain that balance. I felt that most of my students knew when it was time to lighten up and time to get down to business. In my class we would often sing and dance, I would have students make up songs to help them remember vocab. words or literary terms. I also used cartoons on the overhead, especially on Mondays.
My approach to teaching has evolved to me being in the thick of it with the kids. I want them to succeed and if I'm not in to the process, how can they be? That way their successes are my successes and vice-versa.
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