Chapter 7 of The Third Teacher covers three major topics: 1 Teaching Techniques, 2 Buildings, 3 People Power. Let’s look at each category and see what they have to offer us. Teaching Techniques. An idea was put forth that we should encourage adults to adopt a younger child as a mentor. This helps us understand how a younger mind and body see’s the world and helps us relate to their world by allowing them to speak their minds and provide input on how things within the schools might be changed in order to make schools better during the learning process. This same process might lead to a child shedding light upon why certain approaches haven’t worked in the past and how you might be able to salvage the situation. Most of all you need to have fun with this mentoring! The kids will respond better and more candidly if they feel at ease with you. Make use of open questions when talking to children. Often times they will tell you more about a subject if they don’t have to answer yes or no. Buildings. We need to try to create diversity in our classrooms. In order to do this we need access for all students, faculty and community so that we might break down social barriers between these groups. We need to find open areas within the schools were kids can congregate and interact, and connect to each other. We also need to get the kids interested in their classrooms. Let the kids come into a classroom two weeks before school starts, and let them all help repaint the room in bright, vibrant colors that will give them pride in their room and a sense of belonging. Let those kids help create a feel good environment and organize the layout of the room so it suits their needs. People Power. Politics can be helpful. Get local and regional politicians on board early and often. Having them participate in an event that brings the community and the school together in a positive way sparks continued interest on the part of the politicians so that if their support is needed, they can lend a hand, and facilitate a clear picture of what is needed to help schools and get them moving in a positive direction. By engaging all aspects of the community into a cooperative whole, we can better serve both the schools and the community as a single growing and dynamic entity.
Monday, September 20, 2010
Chapter 7: Learning For All
Chapter 7 of The Third Teacher covers three major topics: 1 Teaching Techniques, 2 Buildings, 3 People Power. Let’s look at each category and see what they have to offer us. Teaching Techniques. An idea was put forth that we should encourage adults to adopt a younger child as a mentor. This helps us understand how a younger mind and body see’s the world and helps us relate to their world by allowing them to speak their minds and provide input on how things within the schools might be changed in order to make schools better during the learning process. This same process might lead to a child shedding light upon why certain approaches haven’t worked in the past and how you might be able to salvage the situation. Most of all you need to have fun with this mentoring! The kids will respond better and more candidly if they feel at ease with you. Make use of open questions when talking to children. Often times they will tell you more about a subject if they don’t have to answer yes or no. Buildings. We need to try to create diversity in our classrooms. In order to do this we need access for all students, faculty and community so that we might break down social barriers between these groups. We need to find open areas within the schools were kids can congregate and interact, and connect to each other. We also need to get the kids interested in their classrooms. Let the kids come into a classroom two weeks before school starts, and let them all help repaint the room in bright, vibrant colors that will give them pride in their room and a sense of belonging. Let those kids help create a feel good environment and organize the layout of the room so it suits their needs. People Power. Politics can be helpful. Get local and regional politicians on board early and often. Having them participate in an event that brings the community and the school together in a positive way sparks continued interest on the part of the politicians so that if their support is needed, they can lend a hand, and facilitate a clear picture of what is needed to help schools and get them moving in a positive direction. By engaging all aspects of the community into a cooperative whole, we can better serve both the schools and the community as a single growing and dynamic entity.
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