2012年2月12日星期日

This isn't just a made up notion

Conflict resolution and the repairing of relationships are skills that should be consistently taught from early ages, and schools are the perfect social environments to teach them. Relatively unstructured times such as recess are the best opportunities for children to learn how to navigate?interpersonal conflict. And since cooperative learning has been shown to be more effective than individualistic learning, students need to be taught group learning skills before they are thrown into groups and expected to work together.8. Get rid of homework. Homework is bad. It stresses out children and their families. Studies show it does not improve academic performance or retention of knowledge. Some adults believe that homework will help teach responsibility. But, we generally think it a bad thing to take our work home with us as adults. We understand that there should be a separation of work and home life. We need time to relax and recharge. Many teachers only give out homework because they are expected to by other adults: administrators and parents. And, those adults expect homework because when they were children they had homework. Even those teachers who know enough to be opposed to homework will generally give it to children to prepare them for... homework! That's right. You get homework in 5th grade so you'll get used to it because you are going to have it in 6th grade. It's a pointless, self-perpetuating system. In my current school, there are students who would be passing their classes - they do well on classwork and tests - but they are failing because they don't get their homework done. In other words, there is clear evidence that they are learning yet they may have to repeat a grade of school because they aren't going along with homework oppression. In the end, it's a form of violence against children. It's child abuse. Stop it.9. "Our Schools Are Not Enclaves of Totalitarianism." Those are the wise words of Supreme Court Justice Abe Fortas. And yet, the adults who run many of our schools spend much of their energy trying to Rosetta Stone Spanish (Spain) control students in meaningless ways. For example, it's almost universal that kids aren't allowed to wear hats in school. Why not? Apparently, it was considered rude some time in our culture's past. But look around - adults wear hats indoors! ?I've seen teachers grab the hats off children who are on their way outside. Kids get yelled at for wearing hats. How can anyone learn in such an oppressive environment that feels like the adults are just waiting for them to make a mistake with arbitrary rules? Educator should also be clear about what the reason is behind their efforts to control children's behavior. We need to ask ourselves, "Am I trying to control this child for the benefit of the child, of the class, or for my own benefit?" I once shadowed a 5th grade student for a day and counted how often she was told to be quiet by adults. About 20 times per hour hour, she or the whole class was told, in one way or another, to shut up. Imagine being told by people in charge of your life to sit still and shut up every three minutes, all day, every day. Now imagine being a kid, with the energy of a kid, and enduring your days like that.10. Siestas. OK, this one may seem silly at first, but hear me out. Half-way through the school day, kids (and adults) get sleepy. We have our lowest energy ?about 12 hours from our deepest sleep. When I taught 2nd grade, the kids were always asking me for a nap, but I felt obligated to forge ahead even though I felt like taking a nap, too. There should be a nap period for kids over kindergarten age. Alternatively, some people benefit from exercise, instead of sleep.If you would like to be a part of the North American Siesta Movement,?join my Facebook group.

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