This week I am learning that a lot of kids have gone nowhere. I find that as adults it is easy to assume that everyone can relate to experiences we have had. This week was eye opening because many students have not left Washington. Why should they care about other places in the world when they have not crossed the border of their own state? Why would they care about erosion, precipitation and related concepts when they hardly know what it means let alone visualize it. I am becoming a big believer in virtual field trips and use of imagery. You have to take students where you are going even if it is virtual. I find that google earth is an awesome tool. You can take students on 3D field trips. I also believe in the old fashioned video clips such as the one my mentor teacher showed displaying weather and how it can range from mild and uneventful to being quite disruptive to our daily lives. I learned this week that assumptions are not to be made. Assume students are starting at ground zero with concepts until baseline information from them tells you otherwise. Use visuals. Some kids just cannot relate and make connections by hearing about concepts from us without seeing what it is we are talking about. This is my reflection of this last week..
I found this post so interesting, being one of those kids who traveled out of my home state exactly once (we drove across the border and stayed overnight in a motel -- a *huge* adventure) before college.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if being well-traveled as a child isn't the exception, rather than a common experience.
How could we know?
What if children who haven't visited distant places are even more curious about learning about those things in school than those who've seen more of the world? Might they not be especially interested in those things that they haven't yet experienced in person?
I find it wonderful now that not only can we look at images and videos, but we can blog, skype, and co-build wikis with people who live very far away. I can't imagine kids not being curious about the children across the world with whom they're building a wiki on a children's author that they all love. Can you?
How could we know?
You've really sparked my thinking!
Thanks for commenting.
ReplyDeleteYes, kids who have not had big adventures can have just as much curiousity and drive to explore. I see this in the classroom. If they are well read they may know a lot more than we are aware. If they are not reading so much then images might open another door for them for thinking outside their own environment.. I'm just glad to have tools available. I am not certain of how to incorporate them yet.. but that is coming...