Tag: teaching

Categories
children cartoons

Great Heights

Cartoon of a girl scolding a kitten. She says, "Come down from there! Are you trying to get yourself killed?"

Cartoon of a girl scolding a kitten. She says, “Come down from there! Are you trying to get yourself killed?”

Heights and obstacles are a matter of perspective, aren’t they? Whenever a child is convinced an obstacle is just too much for them, I need to remember it really does look as big to them as they imagine it. Part of the challenge is to convince a student they can overcome an obstacle without belittling or minimizing their fear.

How do you get a child to overcome an an obstacle in a respectful, encouraging way? I’d love to hear your thoughts.

I drew this for Illustration Friday. This week’s word is “heights.”

 

Categories
Book Review

Blah, Blah, Blah: the Book

Kudos to Dan Roam’s new book, “Blah, Blah, Blah: What to do when words won’t work.” I read his earlier book, “The Back of the Napkin,” because I wanted to use my pictures while teaching kids. Roam’s new book takes the idea of incorporating pictures and words even further. I bought this book on Friday. it was so good, I devoured it in the last forty-eight hours!

I especially loved in the beginning where he tells how Dr. Seuss made such an impression on him as a child as well as others. Lately, I’ve heard doomsayers announce the death of picture books. This book shows that we need pictures to go with our words more than ever because we need both to really learn something. I highly recommend it for anyone who gives presentations, teaches, or just wants to get an idea across in the most effective way.

You can on the image above to order a copy.

You can also check out his web site at danroam.com.

Categories
teaching

Are Learner Styles Bunk?

This morning, I heard a news item on how we learn. The conventional wisdom for the last few years was that each of us learn differently and teachers should cater to an individual’s learning style. The main learning styles were the following:

  • visual learner
  • auditory learner
  • tactile/kinesthetic learner
Personally, I’ve always wished one of the learning styles was “gourmet learner.” I’m sure I learn by taste, especially when it comes to chocolate chip cookies.
The premise of the article was there is no scientific evidence that there is such a thing as learner styles. I was very surprised by that, since I’ve heard many educators proclaim it as gospel. What the study suggested is that we find similarities on how our brains learn instead of the differences. After all, all hearts perform in similar ways. Why should we treat our brains differently?
That is where they lost me. It’s true that our organs operate similarly, but we all react to things differently. My stomach loves hot and spicy food. Others find that revolting. Many can’t eat the spicy stuff without paying for it later.
What I could agree on is that everyone benefits from teachers varying their style. No one responds to all lectures/all the time. We need as many of our senses engaged in different ways to keep a student’s interest and make learning fun.
So what do you think about this study? What do you do to keep learning exciting and fun?
Categories
creativity Illustration Friday teaching

Kids, Creativity and Influence

Lawrence Wilson had a good blog post today on five ways to unlock your imagination. He pointed out the things that bring him closer to God also fuel his imagination.

Playfulness was the one thing that really struck out to me. I realized playfulness fuels my creativity and make me feel child-like. That’s a good thing. Preschoolers and early elementary kids are so creative in their play. One of the tragedies of this world is we lose that creativity as we get older. Why is that?

One reason is kids don’t have the experience of failure. The world is new to them. They haven’t faced a friend who ridicules them for doing something out of the ordinary. What’s wrong with wearing a tutu with swimming flippers and a sunflower hat? Plenty if you are in elementary school! You’ll be branded as a weirdo before you can turn in your tutu.

But it’s that same kind of playfulness that can give us a creativity breakthrough! Oh, to be a child and have no worries about doing something society brands nonconformist!

Another reason is when we’ve tried something, and it doesn’t work, we hesitate before we do that again. That’s good for a preschooler when he is doing something that could be dangerous. It’s not so good when it comes to creativity.

When I teach, I look for ways to be creative. Ask yourself silly questions. What does love and pepper jack cheese have in common? What does an aardvark have in common with teaching perseverance? It’s those little mind games that can set your imagination free. After all, humor is all about surprise. We laugh when we connect something that normally doesn’t connect.

Here are a few ways to generate a creative brainstorm:

  • There is a program on the web and available on the iPhone called The Brainstormer. Give it a try!
  • Do something you’ve never done before.
    • Go to a different ethnic restaurant.
    • Try a class at your local library or community center.
    • Try an adventure. You may be surprised what kinds of recreation are available in your area.
  • Participate with kids at play. It’s amazing what they come up with. Four to six-year olds make up totally crazy worlds that, to them, are perfectly believable.
  • Look around the room and find an every day object. Take a few minutes to devise some unconventional uses for that object. Is that fork a back-scratcher for an elf? Is it a strange compass? Could it be a recliner for a hamster?
  • Ask questions. Even if you think you know the answer. Besides, do we REALLY know the answer, or do we just assume we do?
Take a look around you and see things differently. Better yet, see the world through the eyes of a child. It will make you a better teacher and artist.
When I found out this week’s theme for Illustration Friday was “influence,” I through this was perfect. With creativity comes influence!
Categories
webcomic

Teaching Safety

Copyright 2011: Kevin Spear Spot illustration of a man with a gun. He is staring at a fish with a hole through it.

When I was in high school, I had the opportunity to take a class on gun safety. This was a golden opportunity for me because it got me out of study hall. You know study hall, don’t you? It is that misnamed class that is held in a room, where no studying goes on except the kind where students study their classmates.
I jumped at the chance to learn how to handle a gun. I thought I would be able to learn how to handle a firearm and impress my father. Then I could get some serious man points.
In class, we went through all the important things about handling a gun. Some of the things we learned where:

  • How to dress in fluorescent orange so some crazy hunter doesn’t mistake you for Bambi.
  • Never put a white handkerchief in your back pocket because white-tail deer do that all the time and you don’t want a crazy hunter to shoot you.
  • Be a safe hunter, not one of those crazy ones that shoot at handkerchiefs and camouflaged guys.

We learned all sorts of common sense rules, such as don’t point a gun at someone unless you really mean it, make sure the gun isn’t loaded around kids and be sure to get your hunter’s license early and often! (Yes, it was sponsored by our state’s department of natural resources!)
There was one thing we NEVER learned in that class. They never let us shoot a gun. Looking back on the class, I can understand why they were leery letting inexperienced teens bring guns to school. Gee, nothing could ever go wrong with that, right?
I felt cheated that I got this suitable-for-framing certificate that said I was a safe gun owner, when I never owned a gun, or even shot one. I had to get my dad to show me how to shoot a gun. It was only after I personally experienced using a firearm, did I learn how powerful they were and what they were capable of doing. After that, I finally KNEW why gun safety was important.
I keep that lesson in mind when I teach or write for kids. For example, this month, I’m talking with my kids about grace. I need to consider how it applies to them. The examples I give must show that it is important to give it and receive it in a way they have experienced and find relevant.
If I give examples that they can relate to, maybe they can see what a valuable tool it is. When I teach, I try to remember when I was ten years-old and had to show grace to someone else. Maybe I didn’t do such a good job at that time. That’s okay. They need to know it isn’t easy and we’re not perfect.
Something like grace is powerful. I want to be sure they know how to use it safely.