I strive to make my classroom a place where children learn best. I
spend a lot of time focusing on the environment and making it one of learning.
Much of my curriculum planning is all about creating
interest centers that push the thinking of the children.
On any given day you may come into my room and
find a table lifted on one side, paper taped to it and a tub under the lower
end so children can drip drop paint. With glee they watch the liquid
watercolors stream down the table. My science table is over grown with
vegetables and weeds we have “rescued” such as sweet potatoes, carrot ends, and
dandelions. The classroom computer has a sign up sheet and a ten minute
hourglass timer, there is usually a crowed of children around the computer as
well.
My main goal as a teacher is to become
unnecessary, at least as far as imparting knowledge. I arrange the environment
for optimal learning; this includes the emotional environment as well. In the
first months of school I spend most of my time teaching the children
collaborative skills, how to ask for what they want or need, and I do a lot of
modeling these skills. We do activities that increase collaboration in group
and all the children must learn how to play together, I am often saying, “can
you find a way for everyone to play in this game?” or “it looks like Joey has
an idea of how to use this material, lets listen to him.”
This video shows how Sugata Mitra found a way
for children in rural India to learn without any teachers. Are teachers necessary?
I tend to agree with Sugata when he shares what Author C. Clarke says, “If a
teacher can be replaced by a machine, they should be.” This Hole in the Wall Experiment
showed that when good teachers are not available it might be better to allow
children to learn on their own. In this 21 minute video Sugata shows how his
experiment worked and worked wonders in areas where teachers were not available
or were not effective. Please take the time to watch this, as it is informative
and entertaining to watch. I have also included a link to a more refined video
of Sugata Mitra at the TED Talks.
Sugata Mitra: Can kids teach themselves?
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