PregnancyFamilyEducation Blogs
August 6, 2009
Mind over matter
Ever since L. started kindergarten it's been our quest to get him to reveal some tidbit of information he learned at school. Every now and then he'll surprise us with an interesting fact ("did you know that a light second is 186,000 miles?") and we'll utter an exclamation of amazement and follow-up with our standard "did you learn that at school?"
But the answer is always, no. No, he learned it on such-and-such website, or in such-and-such book he read during math class when he was supposed to be learning about long division.
Does it matter, really, where he learns his information? Maybe it doesn't in the long run. But still we ache to hear some report of something worthwhile (according to L.) that he learned at school--because we know there is plenty of worthwhile stuff going on. Maybe we need that validation, maybe we need to feel the six and half hours spent there and the school-related headaches and pain we put up with every afternoon all school year are worth it. But mostly we want him to see school as a valuable place to learn, because it is. We want--maybe selfishly?--that vision of what school could be for him, and what it is for other kids. We want to bask in the knowledge that we've done the right thing, made the right choices.
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Have you ever, as a parent, been torn between wanting to burst out laughing at the hilarious, mind-boggling, wonderful, quirky, resourceful creativity of your kids, or feeling obligated to sit them down and give them a good talking to? Have you ever been torn between your instincts (to laugh) and what you think you should do (scold and reprimand)?
I had the following conversation with L. in the car the other day.
Me: Did you learn anything interesting at school today?
L.: Well, actually, I taught myself a new technique to keep myself occupied during lessons.
Me: Hmmm. That doesn't sound right (occupied during lessons? What?). What do you mean, new technique?
L.: I taught myself a way to play my Nintendo DS without actually having my DS with me.
Me: Really?
L.: Yes, I just think about my favorite game in Lego Star Wars and move my fingers like I would when I play the game. Then I get a picture of the game in my head and it's like I'm REALLY playing.
Me: (Silence).
L.: And you know what's EVEN better?
Me: What?
L.: I taught A. [his friend] this technique and now we can play in multi-player mode together RIGHT THERE IN THE CLASSROOM!
Well...at least he's exhibiting social interaction with a friend and isn't off task alone! (I'm forever looking for silver linings.)
I'm optimistic that as the curriculum gets more difficult, his interest will kick in at some point. I'm holding out hope for that with you. :-)
I have to say I can't help smiling when I think about him doing "multi-player mode" in the classroom...I know I shouldn't find it funny (the teacher in me wants to frown), but I can't help it!
And...I love silver linings!
I know those moments well and try to take solace in the creativity and intelligence they display. I'm currently waiting to see which teacher Scooter will have next year to help me figure out how well some of his antics are likely to go over.
Something that also just crossed my mind is how much I hated oral lessons throughout school, because I just do not process information that way. I learned to look at the teacher with feigned interest (and later to hunch over my notes like I was engrossed, though sometimes I slept) and just wait until I could consult a visual representation of the information. Of course, the teacher-me wants to explain to the student-me that important information not found in the book often appears in lectures, but that doesn't change that I hate trying to tease out that information without some visual reinforcement.
L. definitely doesn't process oral info well. He needs to process things visually, and experientially...I wish he could learn to feign interest!
My nephew also doesn't process verbal instructions well, particularly if it's something "abstract." The one example my BIL uses to illustrate this is the concept of cleaning one's room. You tell B to clean his room, and it's like you've grown a second head or something. But if you give him a concrete step-by-step plan on how to do so, he does better with the verbal. But he's still much better with visual/tangible stuff in his learning.
As to L's convo with A? That's utterly priceless!
Amie
L. has never been able to just "clean his room" or follow any other type of verbal, abstract command and it used to drive us absolutely nuts until we figured out what was going on. But you're right--if we take out bins and get working sorting things together we can get his room cleaned.
I know--I'm still smiling about the conversation. However, he missed getting instructions on his geography homework today because he was so busy playing his fantasy DS.