I am a firm believer that children should have less - but more. They can have less of the material aspect of life - if you trade it in for more of the social experiences that they are craving for when they are younger.
Recently, I was at the library putting together a curriculum for a community center in the metropolitan Atlanta area. It was in the middle of the afternoon and there was a flurry of children that had surrounded me and the different stacks of manipulatives and lessons that were set for deployment. Scissors, glue, play doh - you name it, it was on my table for all of the children to gawk at. When I turned around, I noticed that they were given books and activity sheets to work on...all by themselves.
As an adult, I look at each and every child with a different perspective on what experiences we can provide to them to enrich their quality of life. I find it very disheartening to see a child being given activity books - but no guidance on how to interact with the book. I see that children surround me not to ask me for things to write with or draw on, but to converse with them on how their day is or to engage in some type of meaningful conversation. It is hard for me to ignore what these children really need from us because they need to feel special - even though they may appear to "have what they need".
I know that we have given them the tools, we have shown them how the tools work, but we should also be there with them to share those experiences in learning. Education is not merely giving the student a book to read from or a workbook to put various pencil marks in. Education is meant to draw out or carve an experience that will change your perspective for a lifetime to come.
Recently, I was at the library putting together a curriculum for a community center in the metropolitan Atlanta area. It was in the middle of the afternoon and there was a flurry of children that had surrounded me and the different stacks of manipulatives and lessons that were set for deployment. Scissors, glue, play doh - you name it, it was on my table for all of the children to gawk at. When I turned around, I noticed that they were given books and activity sheets to work on...all by themselves.
As an adult, I look at each and every child with a different perspective on what experiences we can provide to them to enrich their quality of life. I find it very disheartening to see a child being given activity books - but no guidance on how to interact with the book. I see that children surround me not to ask me for things to write with or draw on, but to converse with them on how their day is or to engage in some type of meaningful conversation. It is hard for me to ignore what these children really need from us because they need to feel special - even though they may appear to "have what they need".
I know that we have given them the tools, we have shown them how the tools work, but we should also be there with them to share those experiences in learning. Education is not merely giving the student a book to read from or a workbook to put various pencil marks in. Education is meant to draw out or carve an experience that will change your perspective for a lifetime to come.
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