Thanks to a Twitter today, I saw an inspiring website article today in Edutopia.com by Mitchel Resnick, entitled, "Kindergarten Is the Model for Lifelong Learning."
I encourage you to read it at: http://bit.ly/KhLh6
Dr. Resnick directs the Lifelong Kindergarten Group at MIT's Media Lab, from whence many other good ideas have emanated: Sherry Turkle's publications on the sociological implications of computer chat (subsuming the billions of text chats, I'm guessing ), plus Seymour Papert's seminal work 40 years ago with Logo’s Turtle computer software.
There's lots more from that MIT corps, but suffice it to say Resnick's conclusions are simple and worth our consideration:
"…kindergartners playfully create stories, castles, and paintings with one another, they develop and refine their abilities to think creatively and work collaboratively, precisely the abilities most needed to achieve success and satisfaction in the 21st century." - Edutopia
He talks too about a new computer program they developed for kindergartners, called "Scratch", a free download at: http://scratch.mit.edu/ and all the community interest and participation evoked by a Kg student whom he anonymously calls "BalaBethany", a malaprop name if there ever was one, made up by permuting the real-life name of Bela Banathy, one of the founders and forerunners of instructional systems thinking. So, it's clear Dr. Resnick still likes to play too.
As another reviewer noted, many of the sound points made remind the reader of Robert Fulgham's classic book some years ago, "All I Really Need to Know, I Learned in Kindergarten." It's all true of course: holding hands while crossing the street, say you're sorry, don't hit, flush, and the biggest word of all: Look! And that last one is, of course, what education is all about.
Why can't the powerful model of kindergarten be extended into the upper grades? That's a good question. And there are far too few "good" answers. Among the biggest obstacles is we group our learners by how old they are instead of what their needs are. Followed closely by the fact that there's little chance to play and learn in groups, talking is not tolerated, naps are not encouraged when your brain is tired (see my earlier blog on "Sleeping Students), there's no milk and cookies, and learning is way too often boring and no longer fun.
After kindergarten, labels get hung on learners like an albatross and too many of them give up and become negative self-fulfilling prophecies: "I didn't think I could do it, either." How sad!
What can we do? Bring some of the fun back to learning. Break some of the rules….especially the ones you think you can get away with: more collaborative group work, answer fewer questions but ask more, let them teach you, give them the tools to show what they know. Say, "Look!" more often., “Hey, everyone, look at this!”
When the lights start going back on in their eyes, you'll know it’s working.
10 Responses to “What Do You Do With A Sleeping Student? by Tom King”
It is so important for teachers to get to the root of the problem. As in this situation, the student wasn’t being disrespectful with his sleeping through class. He was naturally responding to events in his life outside of school. I have found that many times students who are acting out in the classroom aren’t doing so just to be naughty. There is generally a “good” reason for the acting out. The pressures of home are stressful, the student is being bullied or teased mercilessly by another student, they are tired, they are hungry, they are insecure, they think they are stupid, they are being put in adult situations at a young age. The best way to manage behavior in the classroom is to understand what else is happening in the lives of your students.
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Tom King Reply:
February 26th, 2010 at 11:20 am
@ktenkely, There’s some fine advice! Thanks, Kelly! The issue was more about me not being a compelling teacher at the moment, than the needs of my students. A lesson learned!
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It’s so easy for teachers to be reactive in situations like this. They hear students yell and they discipline hard. They see students acting out, and they send them to the office. I applaud teachers who can hold back their first instinct of attack, and instead go for inquiry. Love and Logic is great option that teachers can also use as well. Great post.
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Tom King Reply:
February 26th, 2010 at 11:21 am
@ultimateteacher,
Fine point! We have much to learn as young teachers, and often our students will teach us.
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I teach ESL at a university in Korea. The way the university entrance exam works is that many students do most of their studying outside of class. At university, these habits remain and students often sleep in class. As my class is more of a seminar than a lecture, sleep is a no-no. I go for the humorous approach and take a picture of the sleeping student from an angle that obscures the face, then post it on a class blog. If the student is a repeat offender, I offer them money and the chance to go to the coffee machine. Few students take me up on it and even the ones that do try harder to stay awake afterward.
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Tom King Reply:
February 26th, 2010 at 11:23 am
@surprisesaplenty,
All cultures are different.
But I’ve found that anything we do to embarrass a student works against our effectiveness as teachers in the long run. Even when we mean well.
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I was a sleeping student and had reason. That’s always in the back of my mind. You never know, unless you take the time to ask and care. Nice post.
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Tom King Reply:
February 26th, 2010 at 11:24 am
@JW, Yes! And ask the student in a respectful way…not in front of the entire class.
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I don’t wake sleeping students. I figure they showed up with the intent of participating in learning, but their body had other ideas. Students today have horrible sleep patterns, and our strict school schedule doesn’t exactly match up with the circadian rhythm of the average teen. I let them sleep. Sometimes I have a little fun with it, but mostly I just ask the class to not disturb the student, and leave him/her be. Incidentally, I have had VERY few girls sleep in class. Any thoughts as to why?
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Tom King Reply:
February 26th, 2010 at 11:28 am
@Todd Wandio,
I like the concept of just letting them be and talking with them afterwards.
As for girls not sleeping in class, I found that true too. It must explain why they often do so much better than the boys!
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