Teaching today's Children

I suppose it is because they have a lack of motivation. They are spoiled. So much is given to them and therefore they don't know what it is to work for anything. If a good work ethic was built into our children from the start then working for their own education wouldn't be such an issue...don't you think?

Rafe Esquith, Los Angeles Public Schools, is a truly remarkable, award winning teacher, and he has a new book out, "Teach Like Your Hair's on Fire". I strongly recommend it to EVERYONE, and especially teachers. He has the answers to a lot of questions. I think one of his most important observations/criticisms of modern day classrooms is that all too often, order is maintained through FEAR. Children are intimidated into behaving as the school system, the principal, the teacher, their peers, etc. expect---or they suffer the consequences: embarrassment, punishment, detention, suspension, expulsion, notes to parents(resulting in parents being called in for conferences, meaning loss of time from work---thus more punishment at home by the parent). Fear is not only uncomfortable, it limits learning. Fear can range from mild anxiety to gripping, physically paralyzing terror. Ask someone who has had a paralyzing experience. But even the slightest anxiety is inhibiting to learning(and the enjoyment of life). We must get away from this model for maintaining order in our classrooms. This is not to say that Rafe invites anarchy or the absence of rules...far from it. But he has found a way to sidestep the FEAR model by tapping into the children's own higher motives and sensibilities. Rafe creates a "culture of learning" in his class that brings out the best in everyone. Instead of fear, he adopts a model which creates comfort, motivation, and the DESIRE TO LEARN. Rafe inspires TRUST and teaches his kids to be want to be TRUSTWORTHY. It works! Read it. Spread the word. Rafe is onto something powerful!

While it is a fact that the children of today have extremely short attention spans and difficulty concentrating on studies and lectures, they are also extremely intelligent. In fact, it is this extra intelligence that makes them restless. The course structure of most academic courses need to be redesigned as they have been retained since god knows when. The syllabii are totally outdated. While they could have our interest, the new generation learns a lot more than we did, outside the classrooms, thanks to their exposure to National Geographic channel, Discovery channel, History Channel, the internet and so on, so they need not be treated with kid gloves. Instead, the content of their courses has to be interesting enough to get them to pay attention. If the same old curriculum that we studied is persisted with, it's going to be a wonder if any of the kids of today show interest in the courses.

I have lots of experience of teaching children in the 4 to 11 age group. At the start of their education children come from all different backgrounds. Some will have plenty of books at home, have been to a nursery school and have supportive parents. These children will usually settle well at school for the first few years. However once they have been in school for a while they will be influenced by other children. They may get into playing computer games and wanting to watch lots of television. Going back to to talking about the start of a child's education some come from homes without any books, no background at a nursery school and nor very nice parents. These are the type of children that may resent learning. In the early years a good teacher can capture these children's imaginations and give them a taste of success. They need praise along with a set of firm but kind rules. At age 9 to 10 children often start to rebel against learning. This is very sad. They end up enjoying televsion more than reading books. They need to be kept interested in learning by making reading and writing enjoyable activities.