The Sub Way; Teach Fresh by Kelley Herman is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Tuesday, February 17, 2015
What Happened to Fun?
It is difficult for me not to compare my experiences at the school I work at now to my experiences as an elementary student. The fact that I attended this school sixteen years ago (wow, okay I officially know what it feels like to "date" oneself) makes it easier to see this comparison. My first observations were of the building layout; the main office is now the art room, the fourth grade classrooms are in a whole new wing, and the windows seem brighter. I then began to notice how different the school climate is because of the time and current trends. I hear students singing Bruno Mars songs in the hallway and listening to books on MP3 players, reading on Nooks and typing on Chromebooks. Their lessons are on Smartboards and they Skype with classrooms all over the world. This is all fascinating and inspiring to me, but there is one enormous difference and that is that these kids are so consumed and busy that they often forget to be kids. Friday was the day before Valentine's Day and a party had been scheduled. With the school's Health and Wellness policy, only healthy foods are allowed to be consumed. With the school's busy schedule and expectations, the party only ended up being 20 minutes, not including set up and clean up. When I think back on my experiences as a student, my memories are of course within the four walls of the classroom, but so many of them involve the birthday parties, holiday celebrations, and fun times sharing and growing together. I think with today's fast paced world, these students need to also learn to be fast paced and think and act quickly and intelligently. We are doing a fantastic job of preparing them for that, but we are forgetting one special thing; fun. With all of the balancing I am trying to do, I cannot let myself forget to let these kids have fun in the classroom. I want them to look forward to coming into that classroom each day because there is such a short window when they get excited about reading, writing, and solving math problems. That window closes so quickly for so many kids. I am so lucky to have my PLN and access to technology in so many ways. I can find so many excellent resources and ideas on allowing fun within all of the deadlines and expectations. I have a new thing to add to my to-do list: fun.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
I too remember all the fun I had during my years in school. It is sad that the students of today have lost some of the fun. I always knew I wanted to be a teacher but there was a time before I decided to get my masters that I questioned my decision. I did not want to be in a boring classroom that was only teaching to the test. But I have decided to add fun to my to-do list and allow my students to have the fun that I remember having.
ReplyDeleteI agree that it is difficult to bring fun and creativity to the classroom with all the mandates teachers must meet. Being considerably older than you, I remember a much more relaxed classroom atmosphere when I was in elementary and junior high school. Even my daughters, 26 & 23, were able to have more fun in their classes than kids today. It seems the day is so full of curriculum requirements that time allows teachers very few opportunities to be creative and unique in their lesson plans and teaching style, especially in the younger grades. If you can bring fun into your classroom, you will make your students more eager to learn and will give them the happy memories that should be part of childhood learning. Good luck to you! Your students are lucky to have you as their teacher1
ReplyDeleteMy first teaching job was at my old elementary school. It is impossible not to flash back to the time when you walked the halls of that building. Over the years I have seen fun disappear in order to make room for the requirements of education. Just recently one of the middle school kids asked me why school could not be more fun. It is understandable for fun to start to fade in junior high due to the learning expectations that must be achieved. However, in elementary school, I agree with you about adding a little fun to their day.
ReplyDelete