I was teaching my Year 8 English class recently, and I had one of those perspective moments; you know, when you look around yourself and suddenly it’s like you are seeing everything through fresh eyes. Anyway, that’s what happened; we were in a computer room, and I had kids working on laptops, other kids sitting in front of the floor watching the projector screen and even a few standing outside the classroom furiously arguing with each other.

Ten years ago, I would have been horrified if I had stumbled onto a room that was as ‘messy’ as that. I would have been looking for students sitting in silence, studiously copying from textbooks while the teacher lectured. Okay, maybe I was never as blinkered at that, but I think I would have been concerned by what I saw.

Anyway, I had this perspective moment, and it kind of filtered out all the garbage about classroom behaviour and learning outcomes and other stuff, and allowed me to focus on the actual learning taking place. And that’s the point: despite the ‘messy’ classroom, there was no doubt that there was learning taking place – for every student in the classroom. Let’s think about what I mean by learning: firstly, there is a requirement for every student to be engaged. Secondly, there is a need for students to be challenged – at whatever level they are currently not working at. Finally, there is also the call for reflection. I honestly believe that reflection is a crucial part of the learning process, and it is something that I actively encourage students to take part in.

Those students working on a computer were actually putting the finishing touches on a task requiring them to analyse what Australian and Japanese school aged children might be proud of; it was a challenging task for these high achievers, requiring a level of logical thought that is right at the top end of Bloom’s taxonomy. Meanwhile middle achievers in my class were engaged (and I use that word deliberately) in watching ‘An Inconvenient Truth’ which fits really nicely with our area of study.

But more than passively watching the video, the students were actively involved in critiquing Gore’s point of view; in fact they were analysing how they structured his argument – defining each new piece of information as an example, or a thesis, or evidence. It was great. Sure, they might have been sitting on the floor, or not writing in their books, but they were learning – and enjoying it too.

And the two outside? Well, they were in the heat of a discussion about the reality of climate change, and the causes of it.

Messy classrooms: the way of the future?

I was reading somewhere – not sure where – about the actual etymology of the word education. Rather than meaning ‘to teach’ or ‘to learn’ it actually means ‘to lead’ or ‘to lead out.’ I think it’s from the Latin, originally. It’s an interesting thought, though, isn’t it? Rather than meaning to absorb or dispense knowledge, or to sit there passively storing it up until you are ready to regurgitate it on some examination.

Instead, it’s much more active – more like a ‘guide’ or even a mentor, isn’t it? Even more importantly, there is no suggestion of being the repository of all knowledge; rather, there is the idea that we are all in this together. Just a few thoughts. What do you think?

Reading about the tragic suicide of a student in Massachusetts due to bullying – I believe both cyber and in person. Horrific. You can read the whole article here, but the interesting part is that 9 of the people associated have been charged with felony crimes – which means, I think, they could end up being sent to gaol or juvenile detention.

Apparently, Massachusetts and most other states in the US have anti-bullying laws of some description, but this is seen as a big step forward, in that this is actually going to go to court, and a lot of people have been charged.

The issue of bullying is a tricky one in schools; I’ve never worked in a school where bullying hasn’t existed, and I don’t really believe anyone who says that bullying doesn’t exist. In fact, in some of the schools I’ve worked in (and there are 5 different schools, now) the worst bullies have been members of staff – towards other staff members and students, who try to cloak their despicable behaviour under the guise of professionalism. I can’t abide gossiping, regardless of how professional you may claim to be while doing it. To me, it’s just bullying in disguise.

Anyway, what’s important in schools is the methods for dealing with bullying; in the example outlined above, apparently staff were aware of bullying but failed to act upon it. That rings all kinds of alarm bells for me. It’s interesting comparing that article with this one (also from the New York Times.) This article explains the rise of a phenomenon called recess coaches – people who deal specifically with working with young people during recess time – by teaching them how to play hopscotch and play together. Crazy stuff, right?

Well, perhaps not. According to David Elkind, who is a professor at Tufts university, we have lost what is called the ‘culture of childhood’, in part because we spend, as children, so much time alone. This culture is important, argues Elkind. He writes:

For children in past eras, participating in the culture of childhood was a socializing process. They learned to settle their own quarrels, to make and break their own rules, and to respect the rights of others. They learned that friends could be mean as well as kind, and that life was not always fair.

Now that most children no longer participate in this free-form experience — play dates arranged by parents are no substitute — their peer socialization has suffered. One tangible result of this lack of socialization is the increase in bullying, teasing and discrimination that we see in all too many of our schools.

Scary stuff, I reckon.