What does it mean to be a child?
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If you're at the beach this summer, or in any other popular gathering spot for young children, take a minute to watch what they do. Watch them execute careful experiments to discover the properties of sand. Watch them find rainbows in water sprinklers. Watch them study their peers and discover new ways to climb, play games, and share. Watch how they make friends and how they figure out strategies to solve problems. Watch them find creative ways to express their need for food, engagement, rest, recognition, and love.
Summer is for childhood in its purest form.
The school year, on the contrary, has increasingly become the time for pushing childhood to the side in favor of the more serious work of becoming an adult. Without a doubt, school should be a place where we learn the skills and content we need for future success. But if you really watch what children do when left to their own devices - they tend to put our efforts at confining these learning experiences to a curriculum to shame.
Time and time again you hear teachers lament the steady erosion of creative thought, innovative ideas, and enthusiasm for learning that accompanies the aging child. Pre-Kindergarten teachers can tell you hundreds of stories about the power of their students' ideas, but many high school teachers struggle to find even one story about a student who truly thought "outside the box."
So as you watch children over the next few months, think about what you can do this fall to keep that summer spirit alive. What does it mean to really be a child? How can your understanding in this arena lead to a better learning experience for you and your students?
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The Summer of Teacher Renewal
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The most important thing you can do for your students this fall, is take care of yourself this summer. No matter how much you sleep - you'll still get tired when school starts. No matter how much you relax, you'll still feel stress during those first few weeks. But there are habits you can start now to ensure a better tomorrow. It takes at least 3 weeks to cement a good habit - so it's time to get started!
Read this article from the Coalition of Essential Schools about the importance of teacher renewal to the profession as a whole.
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Teacher Resources: Child Development
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Developmentally Appropriate Practices - Overview
The North Central Regional Educational Library has put together this brief digest defining leading strategies in developmentally appropriate instruction.
Developmentally Appropriate Practice in the Age of Testing
This recent article in the Harvard Education Letter looks at the cost of high stakes testing as it relates to the fruitful development of children. The article cites several recent studies about the importance of play in early childhood education.
Piaget vs Vygotsky: The Cognitive Development Theory
This article explores the similarities and differences between these two developmental theorists.
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BECOME A FAN OF INSPIRED TEACHING
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Check out our Facebook page and become a fan of the organization.
Inspired Teaching is now on Twitter as InspireTeach. Follow us to get regular updates! These are new ways you can stay connected to Inspired Teaching and, even better, a way we can stay connected to you!
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Center for Inspired Teaching is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization that exists to ensure schools make the most of children's innate desire to learn. We do this by investing in teachers. Please visit our website to learn more about our philosophy, programs, and results.
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