So, the better part of another school year has slipped by at astonishing speed. The older I get, the faster they fly. What's up with that?. I look up and - Whoa! - the husband is watching the ACC tournament and I'm booking for Spring Break.
Another almost-done year, and a second year of listening (carefully) and recording conversations. Here's what I'm taking from these:
Every single time, the kids are telling me that they learn best by working in teams. Even when the work I give them is much, much harder than anything I would ever give them individually. In fact, they like the challenge.
No one has ever said that doing a worksheet helped him or her.
So what?
That's the question, isn't it?
I've got some reading to do. Just not sure where to start and don't want to waste money on expensive books if they're not what I need. I'm Montessori-trained (with little guys, though) and understand how an elementary works in that environment, but how to adapt it all so that kids are spending most of their time in teams, researching things they care about, taking part in challenging work that gets them thinking and growing in a traditional school setting? My boss is absolutely cool about me being flakey. She rocks like that. The problem is that they come in trained to believe that The Test is all-important and are very extrinsically motivated. Mine is a single-grade classroom, so there aren't older kids there to help. I don't have a lot of time to turn that around, lean on the leaders, and get productive. Frustrating to have found the right door, but I'm short a key.
My goals for the week:
- Learn more about ROLE reversal and how it works in Mark Barnes' classroom in Ohio. Decide if I think what he describes is doable - as in functions in the real world - before dropping $25 on a book.
- See if I can find a cheap copy of Drive. I've read Glasser; I hope this isn't redundant.
Hey! I found the basic content in a TED talk! Score!
http://www.ted.com/talks/dan_pink_on_motivation.html
- God help me, attend high school orientation for my 14-year old and figure out how to register him for classes. Hope they offer some things he'll find exciting.
Lol! Wish me luck!
