I watched this video, and cracked up! I was trying to find articles about rigor and bumped into this video. It’s a bit long in making its point, but I get it. This poor teacher is being hounded by her principal, to “perform” , so that her students can learn the parts of speech.
Posted by Russ Hamel on March 28, 2012 at 12:26 pm
Hilarious video!
I totally agree, there is nothing more ‘fun’ than challenging students to come up with their own solutions. The smiles that come on faces when the light comes on – when they ‘get it’ – is priceless.
I’m going to sound like an old guy now; back in the 60′s when I was growing up, we had this thing called “Going out to play”, where kids from my small-town neighborhood gathered together, made up games, disagreed and figured stuff out for ourselves. We had FUN!
Over time, activities became structured. I live in a big city (Toronto) in a big condo building. My 8 year old daughter doesn’t know the meaning of, “Going out to play.” Everything is pre-arranged – structured – has a ‘purpose’. These days, the main question isn’t, “Did you have fun?” It’s, “What did you LEARN today?”
God forbid you have FUN at music lessons or hockey practice or dance class. As for “Going out to play”… what’s THAT?
All the best from Toronto,
Russ
Posted by Pete on April 1, 2012 at 5:23 pm
I hope you never find rigor in my classroom. I try to keep that word out. But you will find creativity, innovation and imagination. My students are being taught character and how to improvise. You can keep the rigor.
Posted by Oldschoolteach on April 1, 2012 at 5:41 pm
Hey Pete, you have just described “rigor” in my classroom! LOL