On Saturday, I gave a presentation at a meeting of a local group of antiques collectors. There were about 60 people in the audience, mainly older folk, and they were such a great audience! Sat with rapt attention. Had great questions when I was done. They all applauded at the very end. And not a single person fell asleep!
I'd like to say that this is the way my classes at school go, but I rarely get applause. I'm not going to begin talking about questions. Sometimes, my favorite activity is waking up the sleepy heads.
Don't get me wrong, I have a lot of great kids, but I guess the old saying is true--"Youth is wasted on the young!"
Or is it part of our problem in education. I was talking to one of the folks at the collector's group, a retired Industrial Arts teacher. He was bemoaning the decline and demise of what we used to call "shop" classes. I couldn't agree with him more. Making teenagers, boys especially, sit in chairs in rows, and expect them to listen and participate appropriately from 8 to 3 every day, is not realistic. We are so focused on preparing for the state tests, that we forget that there are other types of learning, not just memorization of math, science, and history facts. Sometimes kids, and adults too, just need to move around and do a different type of activity.
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