Wednesday, November 21, 2012

Inspiring the Next Generation of Thinkers

The following post from Edudemic serves as a great starting place to inspire us to think in new ways. Fostering creativity in students is a building block for helping them to develop their minds "outside of the box." Maybe designing a creative and flexible learning environment is the first step to helping students think creatively.

Happy Thanksgiving!

"Teaching kids goes beyond textbooks and classroom lessons. It has to include teaching them to open their minds to new things and how to think for themselves. This is how we will encourage them to reach their full potential.

One of the most important things we can teach kids is to believe in themselves. As adults we have an obligation to younger generations to help them gain confidence. We should also help them explore their ability to be creative.

About Self-Confidence
When kids have self confidence, they are more likely to be determined to succeed. This also means having self-esteem. These are building block of a ‘can do’ attitude. Kids that have self-confidence feel capable and empowered.

Parents can promote this by giving support and encouragement as often as is possible. Rather than focusing on imperfections or areas the child may be lacking in it is important to give praise for positives. At the same time parents and other adults should offer support and encouragement for any areas of difficulty.

Developing Creativity
Kids that are creative will become the great thinkers and problem solvers of tomorrow. Creativity is the basis for finding solutions. With that in mind, children should have the freedom to be creative. Rather than forcing children to always ‘follow instructions’ it can be more helpful to allow some freedom in expressing themselves.

The sad fact is, few schools offer this freedom. In a classroom setting there are usually strict guidelines – even in areas like art and music. With that in mind parents should encourage ways of self-expression. Hobbies can be great tools for developing creativity.

Musical activities, art and crafts projects, and even reading can be ideal ways to assist a child in becoming more creative. You can visit californiamusicstudios.com for information about in-home or in-studio music lessons. Developing the skill to play an instrument is a great way to help a child feel more confident. A well-stocked craft box can be enough to inspire a child to create art and craft projects.

Everybody has the ability to be creative. The idea is to tap into the seed of creativity that is hidden within the child.

Children need to be challenged. This helps them work for solutions and at the same time they develop their creativity. This ‘growth’ will boost the child’s self-esteem. When we motivate them and show our enthusiasm children also become enthused. This inspires even greater success.

Giving specific feedback on a child’s work can be more inspiring than general comments. For example, when a child writes a story we should give feedback about what was most interesting in the story. You might mention that you like the descriptions the child used. You can explain that detailed descriptions make stories ‘come to life’ for you.

In this way you are supporting what has been done well, and you are leaving the door open for the child to be creative. This inspires the child to further develop the positive things he or she is already doing" (www.edudemic.com).

Wednesday, November 14, 2012

The Children's Manifesto

A newspaper in England asked students across the country what their ideal school would have. Ideas flooded in, ranging from fluffy carpet, to more time with attentive teachers. Take a look at this inspiring list below:

Active – with lots of different sports, including judo, dance, karate, football and abseiling, and a swimming pool with slides. Playgrounds with climbing frames and treehouses where you could learn about nature.
"Rock climbing could help your education because you have to think where to put your hands and feet."
Calm – with a chill-out room; music instead of bells, and a quiet place inside at playtime for drawing, reading and board games.
Comfortable – with beanbags, big enough chairs, small enough chairs, slippers, and somewhere personal to store things. There should be cold drinks in the summer and hot drinks to warm you up in winter.
"Pink fluffy carpet so we can walk around in our socks."
Creative and colourful – with lots of room to make and display art, bright painted walls in corridors and dining rooms, and flowers in the classroom.
"I would like to ban the colours black, brown and grey from our school."
Expert - with teachers who don't just read up about their subjects, but live them, and visiting celebrities to talk about what they do.
"In the classroom we should have Stephen Hawking to teach us science. I would like Gordon Ramsay to cook our lunch, but he would have to promise to zip his mouth. I would like Besse Cooper to teach us history, according to the internet she is the oldest person alive today so she could tell us about her life."
Flexible – with more time for favourite subjects, no compulsory subjects apart from maths and English, and more time for art and sport.
"If we're doing something that needs a lot of thinking, there should be enough time to finish."
Friendly – with kind teachers who speak softly and don't shout, and special members of staff that you can go and talk to. You should be allowed to sit with your friends in class and assembly.
"The cool thing is the friendship bench. If anyone sits on there sad, someone comes up to them and always says what's wrong and they will sort it out with a big cuddle and go off and start playing together."
Listening – with forums for classes to express their views and also chances for pupils to have quiet chats with teachers. Don't just listen, but take children's comments seriously and make changes as a result.
"I like the idea of having a suggestion box because we can share each other's ideas with the school council."
Inclusive –with pupils of all achievement, ability and background learning together. Everybody should learn in one room, with opportunities for small group or private work.
"I think it's unfair that only the people who are good at writing stories have their stories displayed in the school hall. I think everyone should have their work displayed. That way no one feels left out."
International – with food from all over the world on the dinner menu and pupils from all over the world in the classroom; with opportunities to go abroad to learn languages and about other cultures.
"At lunchtime a buffet with Namibian, Chinese, Indian and French food would be served on flower-shaped plates and we would listen to music from that country as we ate."
Outside – fortnightly school trips (without worksheets), animals to look after like chickens, sheep and horses, and greenhouses to grow fruit and vegetables to eat at school and sell to raise funds.
Technological – with iPads to read and work on, MP3 players for relaxing during breaks or to help concentrate while working alone, and usb sticks to take work home (and save paper).
"There should be digital recorders available for lessons, so if you go to the toilet, when you come back you can catch up on what you have missed."
What the perfect school would have
★ No homework (all the work would be finished at school)
★ A flexible timetable
★ An hour-long lunchbreak
★ Pets
★ First-aid lessons
★ A choice of uniform to express your personality
★ After-school clubs in all sorts of subjects
★ Hot dinners
★ An iPad for each pupil
★ A football field
★ Fewer tests (but not no tests at all)