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Christian Schools:
Teachers
begin each school day faced with the difficult task of stretching several short
attention spans over a six hour period. They must utilize diverse, creative ways
to achieve concentration from all students.
Attention spans must be stretched or a teacher's patience may lose its
elasticity, and he/she will snap on the students.
The key if for teachers to find a common frequency that unifies a diverse
class with different backgrounds and learning styles.
Part
of this process comes from another meaning of the word frequency:
teachers must follow a daily plan and develop consistency in activities.
Frequently performing the same actions at the same time gives students a
framework that may later be decorated with creative teaching activities.
Many educators feel they should not impede the creativity of students
through a structured system, but the class will not function properly without
boundaries. Barriers do not stifle
creativity, they place imaginative thinking and learning in the center of the
canvas. Scheduling activities at
the same time may be a routine, but the results don't have to be. Students learn to anticipate their favorite class, allowing
them to survive the class with which they have difficulty or believe is dull.
The creativity of eager learners peaks faster than a bored child with no
boundaries. As the wisdom of the
Word states, “…a child left to himself
bringeth his mother to shame.” (Proverbs 29:15b)
Some
students, however, will want to color outside of the lines.
Although many will be attuned to the same frequency, these individuals
will need help finding their place in the structure.
They may be easily distracted or they may learn in different ways.
Without removing the framework, teachers can alternate the frequencies
they send out by mixing up learning strategies.
Visual and audio aids offer students diverse formats for understanding
lessons. Activities give kinetic learners a chance to be part of the action.
Reading simply by seeing or hearing the story may work for most students,
but for others acting out the adventure brings it to life.
Visual learners will enjoy working with maps in geography; but kinetic
learners will prefer taking colored chalk out to the parking lot, drawing, and
identifying rivers, lakes, and countries.
Games
also represent an avenue of drawing students into a subject.
Science, history, and geography may seem boring to some students until
competition enters the equation;. try
a junior battle of the sexes to gain classroom bragging rights.
Ideally, parents and teachers would like students to learn for the joy of
learning; but if competition makes students unknowingly thrive at learning, then
- let the games begin! A student's
recall for tests will greatly improve because of the fun and competitive
emotions surrounding the game. Shy
students will not feel as awkward because everyone plays the game as part of a
team. Many parents receive a pleasant surprise the night before a
big test after a game has been played over the subject. Confidence built through competition carries over to tests
and quizzes. The question missed in
a game will alert a student to a weak area.
One mother commented that before her son played games, they had spent
hours the night before a test, attempting to master the material.
With the introduction of games into his learning, he went to bed early,
well-rested for the test.
Since
teachers and parents compete everyday with television, sports, and computers for
the short attention spans of children, the reality and necessity of putting new
spins on traditional learning techniques becomes apparent.
The answer is not to abandon the old, but to add a few strokes of bright
color to the canvas. Learning will
then become fun. The enjoyment will
lead to curiosity, and hopefully the curiosity will lead to a genuine love for
learning and the discipline to acquire new knowledge.
ninetyandnine.com
Article
© Chris Paris, 1999 ------- Christopher Paris teaches high school in Cincinnati. Have an opinion on an article? Let us know how you feel! Click feedback & fill us in. |
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