WONDERING ??

Wonder why we are in a rat race & what we are teaching our kids

Charles Schultz Philosophy

The following is the philosophy of Charles Schultz, the creator of the
'Peanuts' comic strip. You don't have to actually answer the questions..
Just read it straight through and you'll get the point.

1. Name the five wealthiest people in the world.
2. Name the last five Heisman trophy winners.
3. Name the last five winners of the Miss America Contest.
4. Name ten people who have won the Nobel or Pulitzer Prize.
5. Name the last half dozen Academy Award winners for best actor and
Actress.
6. Name the last decade's worth of World Series winners.

How did you do?
The point is, none of us remember the headliners of yesterday. They are not
Second-rate achievers.. They are the best in their fields. But the applause
dies. Awards tarnish. Achievements are forgotten. Accolades and certificates
are buried with their owners.
Here's another quiz. See how you do on this one:

1. List a few teachers who aided your journey through school.
2. Name three friends who have helped you through a difficult time.
3. Name five people who have taught you something worthwhile.
4. Think of a few people who have made you feel appreciated and special.
5. Think of five people you enjoy spending time with.
Easier?

The lesson: The people who make a difference in your life are NOT the ones
with the most credentials, the most money, or the most awards. They are the
ones who care.
Share this with those who have made a difference in your life.

I just did! 'Don't worry about the world coming to an end today.
It's already tomorrow in Australia.'(Charles Schultz)

Effective Praise

Effective Praise

By Leah Davies, M.Ed.

A goal of educators is to help children to become intrinsically motivated. Children's self-worth develops as an aside from working hard, surmounting frustrations, and overcoming obstacles. Honest praise provides children with the opportunity to gain a realistic understanding of their strengths and weaknesses. In order to feel strong, confident and independent, children must receive truthful valuation. Children, who have grown accustomed to continuous applause, may develop anxiety about their abilities, a fear of failure, a reluctance to try new things, and be ill-prepared to cope with future setbacks.

Effective praise focuses on a child's effort rather than on what is actually accomplished. When educators give genuine praise that is specific, spontaneous and well-deserved, it encourages continuous learning and decreases competition among students.

How can educators use praise effectively?

1. Think in terms of acknowledgment and encouragement rather than praise. Praise helps most when it conveys not only approval but information about the progress a child is making. For example, "You have been trying so hard to learn those new words and now you are able to read the whole story!"
2. Demonstrate interest and acceptance in children because they have innate value that is not contingent on their work. For example, say, "(Child's name), I'm glad you are in my class."
3. Use positive body language such as smiling, looking directly at the child, standing close, listening intently, and assisting when needed.
4. Acknowledge a child's effort or progress without judgment using clear, specific language. Offering descriptive praise shows that you are paying close attention. For example:
"I noticed how you took time to show the new student around the school. I am sure she appreciated the help."
" I can see that you enjoy math. You have worked on these problems for over half an hour!"
" I'm glad to see you are working so hard on your spelling words!"
Whenever possible, take the time to say something similar to the above examples, instead of using a generic response like, "Great work," "That's terrific!" or"You're super!"
5. Communicate constructive observations. For example, say,
"You listened without interrupting."
"John is sharing with Thomas."
"Lily is waiting patiently in line."
"Margaret and Suzanne are working quietly."
"You put the books away without being asked."
6. Acknowledge a child's specific behavior rather than commenting on his/her character. For example, "Since you have been doing all your math homework, you have brought up your grade!" rather than saying, "You are such a good student."
7. Foster children's discussion and evaluation of their work by asking questions, "I can see that you worked hard on this project. Can you tell me about it?" or "How do you feel about your report? Is there anything else that needs to be done?" When adults listen to children, they are demonstrating interest and caring.
8. Encourage positive character traits in students by naming them. For example, "Boys and girls, I appreciate each of you being quiet while I talked to Mrs. Jones. You were being respectful."
9. Relate praise to effort and to how it benefited the child as well as others. Say things like, "Since you remembered to return your homework this week, you have done better in math and I have had more time to spend helping the other students."
10. Promote initiative and attempting new skills. For example, "You listened well and followed directions without any help," and "Last week you could not kick the ball, but you practiced, and now you can!"
11. Encourage perseverance and independence by saying things such as, "That experiment did not work out. What's next?" and "Instead of asking for help, you looked up the word in the dictionary!"
12. Acknowledge independent thought and creativity, "That's an interesting idea. Tell me more."
13. Reinforce problem-solving skills by saying things like, "As a group you decided who would be responsible for each part of the project."
14. Sometimes privately compliment in order to provide an opportunity for an open, honest exchange. This will also decrease student competition that can occur when children feel that you favor some more than others.
15. Reserve exuberant praise for outstanding effort.
     

Used by permission of the author, Leah Davies, and selected from the Kelly Bear website [www.kellybear.com]. 9/03

HOW CHILDREN FAIL ? -JOHN HOLT

Most Children fail in school.

But there is a more important sense in which almost all children fail:
Except for a handful, who may or may not be good students, they fail to develop more than a tiny part of the enormous capacity for learning, understanding, and creating with which they were born and of which they made full use during the first two or three years of their lives.


 Why do they fail?


  They fail because they are afraid (A), bored (B) and confused (C).

 
They are afraid, above all else, of failing, of disappointing or displeasing the many anxious adults around them, whose limitless hopes and expectations for them hang over their heads like a cloud.

  They are bored because the things they are given and told to do in school are so trivial, so dull,and make such limited and narrow demands on the wide spectrum of their intelligence, capabilities, and talents.

  They are confused because most of the torrent of words that pours over them in school makes little or no sense.
 It often flatly contradicts other things they have been told, and hardly ever has
any relation to what they really know - to the rough model of reality that they carry around in their minds.

 How does this mass failure take place? What really goes on in the classrooms? What are these children who fail doing ?What goes on in their heads? Why don’t they make use of more of their capacity?



You can explore answers to some of these questions in a book titled How Children Fail by John Holt

LEARNING -WHICH WAY ??

Experiential learning V/S  Conventional learning

Experiential Learning is: ‘developing personal understanding, knowledge, skills and attitudes through the analysis of, and reflection on, activity’.

In this definition ‘Activity’ can include anything from an individual explaining an idea or completing a simple task to highly complex group interactions involving a wide range of mental attributes and behaviours

Experiential learning is sometimes referred to as activity based learning or active learning.

What makes experiential learning special?

• experiential learning is an active process which engages the learner, not a passive process that happens to the learner.
• in ‘experiential learning’ the experience provides the platform for learning, whilst the careful analysis and reflection of the experience develops the learning
• individuals are encouraged to work things out for themselves, they are guided to and through their learning rather than being taught
• the learning individuals develop is appropriate for them: it is implicit in the approach that there are no ‘right ways of thinking’, ‘set rules, or ‘perfect behaviours’ that anyone has to learn and apply
• the commitment developed by the learner to make best use of their learning: they are central to the learning process, it is their learning.

Article resourced from www.mtalearning.com 

Read more @http://www.mtalearning.com/mta/experiential-learning.html

The essence of effective experiential learning is that the entire process is centered on the learner - not the task, not the qualification standard, not the group, and certainly not the trainer's or the teacher's personal opinions. 

conventional learning	experiential learning
learning-centred/focused - theoretical	learner-centred/focused - really doing it
prescribed fixed design and content	flexible open possibilities
for external needs (organisation, exams, etc)	for internal growth and discovery
transfers/explains knowledge/skills	develops knowledge/skills/emotions via experience
fixed structured delivery/facilitation	not delivered, minimal facilitation, unstructured
timebound measurable components (mostly)	not timebound,
suitable for groups and fixed outcomes	individually directed, flexible outcomes
examples: powerpoint presentations, chalk-and-talk classes, reading, attending lectures, exam study, observation, planning and hypothesising, theoretical work, unreal role-play.	examples: learning a physical activity, games and exercises, drama and role-play which becomes real, actually doing the job or task, 'outward bound' activities, teaching others, hobbies, pastimes, passions.