I think it’s true…
I think it’s true…
that kids have lost their imagination. I was teaching my drama class today and had them play a game calle “Story Orchestra”. 4 kids stand and I point to them one at at time and at their turn they begin to tell a story or add on to the previous information. As I switch people the story grows and is supposed to get more elaborate. Well, the first one went ok then the next group got up there…hoo boy. One or two sentences in…It was so sad. They couldn’t seem to get past a few lines and it always turned the same direction. “The hippo fell off the slide and went to the hospital…” I was quite amazed that the one kid who has been very difficult so far, was the best at it. I wonder if they have ever pretended they were someone else?
September 22nd, 2005 at 8:25 pm
Maybe they were just nervous? I mean, the “difficult” kid may have been good at it because he finally got some attention which he craves. The other kids may not have liked being in front of the class being put on the spot. I don’t know…just a guess.
September 23rd, 2005 at 6:01 am
How about my sign language class?
“How do you say, he’s so hot?”
“How do you say, I’m going to marry him someday?”
How do you say “I want to go out with your son?”
Helllllooooo. This class goes on your permanent transcript!!!
One 7th grade girl is always talking about how she is in love with this 5th grader. So finally, another girl was so sick of it she said, “how do you say pedophile?”
sheeeeesh. Why can’t we just stick to things like, “how do you say happy, or sister, or car?”
September 23rd, 2005 at 10:04 am
Maybe the “difficult” kid is actually the creative kid or the gifted kid. Aren’t creatives generally difficult?
September 23rd, 2005 at 11:07 am
I think Kristi is probably right about the kid who is doing well at this, maybe that’s the kind of thing he is good at and so he takes the opportunity to do it well.
As for the creative / gifted ones being difficult, I know that a lot of artists, etc. do have that kind of story, as well as people like Albert Einstein (not so much “difficult”, but just didn’t do well in school). For some it may be true, but for most I think they can be perfectly capable of being good students even though they are “above” the class average in some other aspect.
I know that when I was in school, I kind of used that as an excuse to slack off. I don’t think I ever got anything less than an A before 9th grade, and then in high school I started doing the least work possible. I could probably count the number of times I did homework (at home) just using two hands, maybe even one; but then I would ace the tests and end up averaging C’s.
I had heard many people say how gifted kids are often bored with traditional class work, and I think that since I did feel that way, I kind of latched onto that as an excuse to not worry about doing well.
I’ve got several opinions about school that stem from this outlook (such as grades should only be based on test scores, not homework / busy work, extra credit, or other crap that can get you a good grade without actually learning what you’re supposed to learn).
But looking back now, I don’t think that I really did poorly in school because I was “gifted” / “bored”, etc. but because I put school on the bottom of my priority list. Maybe I did that (in part) because of those reasons (although there were other reasons too), but I don’t think I’m going to let my kids get away with that line of reasoning. Sure, it may be boring, and therefore difficult in a different way, but that’s part of life that they need to be prepared for; sometimes we have to do stuff that doesn’t really interest or challenge us all that much.
In a way, I think that’s a big part of what makes a great teacher - discovering (for each kid) how to challenge them in a way that encourages them to explore learning in a positive way, rather than something they just have to do.
Anyway, back to the post, I’m not sure about the other kids in the class being nervous. I guess it’s possible, but this is an elective class, so why did they sign up to do drama if they didn’t want to?
September 23rd, 2005 at 4:31 pm
Ok …now I didn’t mean difficult as in a brat, just has trouble in keeping priorities straight. Maybe he would rather smile and wave to the 7th grade girl than listen to weights and measures etc., but he’s gonna get an F. Other other note: I don’t think it was nerves. There are only 8 kids in the class and they are all pretty much friends. Although, maybe they just didn’t get the game. I am just a little frustrated that these kids are in drama and I only think there are a couple of kids who can actually use inflection. Sorry, not to be harsh, but I am not by trade and my own admission a drama teacher. It would be a lot easier on me if they were all little Robert DeNiro’s from the beginning. Haha…just kiddin’. whatever…I wasn’t thinking this would turn into serious discussion. Go figure.
September 23rd, 2005 at 4:55 pm
einstein actually did really well in school. he was a genious after all. it’s a commonly held, but untrue urban legend that he failed. look it up!
September 23rd, 2005 at 4:55 pm
i love it when i spell genius wrong…doy!
September 23rd, 2005 at 5:08 pm
i’m thinking you should do the american thing. lower your standards!
September 23rd, 2005 at 5:09 pm
Yet another myth perpetuated by our educational system!
September 24th, 2005 at 12:54 am
from his wikipedia entry:
As he entered college he was not an exceptional student:
September 24th, 2005 at 1:05 am
I think it was an Anamaniacs episode that taught me Einstien failed math when he was a child. Anyone else remeber that episode?
September 24th, 2005 at 12:57 pm
sorry jared. i should have said, do the human thing.
September 26th, 2005 at 11:57 am
i don’t, but have been blessed with a some anamaniacs recently from my daughter’s intake. ah, good memories.