I used to teach high school math which can be deadly dry and
dull. I didn’t grow up with the deep desire to be a math teacher,
www.moncleroutletsky.com. I actually
ended up there by default, because my parents wouldn’t pay for college for what
I really wanted to be – an actress or a pilot!
So here I was at 22 years
old with a degree in secondary mathematics, a new husband who was just beginning
college after a stint in the military. I was the primary breadwinner so it was
up to me to bring home the paycheck,
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have been my passion but it was up to me to make it work.
Somehow I sought ways of making
class fun. I collected rebuses which I used as bonuses. I found a math game
called Krypto which I modified to use for the entire class. The kids liked it so
much that they became Kryptmaniacs! I even turned factoring – a process in
Algebra – into a bingo game. Students did more math problems in one game than
they ever would have done as homework but because it was fun, they eagerly did
the work and improved in the skill dramatically,
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I used humor
wherever possible. Anything to make the kids enjoy being in the class,
moncler. As I told them early in the
year, “You might not like math, but I’m hoping you enjoy the class. We’re on the
same journey for the next 180 days, so we might as well enjoy the
ride.”
I know this worked because to this day, I still hear from former
students who tell me how much they learned in my class and how much they enjoyed
it. I got to enjoy it too which certainly made a very challenging job even more
rewarding.
Why shouldn’t school be fun? In our society, we seek out the
activities and hobbies that are the most fun. In fact we celebrate people who
entertain us – paying them the highest salaries, giving them the most attention.
Most of what teens see as icons are actors, singers/musicians and athletes.
Everywhere we turn, we are being courted to be entertained by the latest
media gadget – IPod, IPhone, Play Station, TiVo, HDTV, My space….and the list
goes on. We as teachers have all that and more to compete with. If we want to
connect with kids and hold their attention, we must find a way to make school
fun.
Just this week, the results came in for the businesses that were the
best to work for. Who ranked number one,
timberland boots? Google…
because of the casual atmosphere, the fun environment and the focus on
creativity. Who else is consistently in the Top 10? Southwest Airlines who have
realized that the best way to hold customers is to making flying fun. Who else
starts off a flight referring to the oxygen masks as margarine cups? Or says
that anyone who wants to smoke can step outside? Who else has a contest where
they award flying vouchers to whoever has the ugliest license picture or the
biggest hole in their sock?
I believe that if we live in a world that
honors and celebrates fun, we must incorporate that mindset into our classrooms
or we just create another reason for kids to disconnect.
Elementary and
middle school teachers are probably more comfortable adding an element of fun to
their lessons but I think it’s just as important for high school teachers to do
so. Teens are still kids inside and respond very positively to whatever levity,
humor or fun we can add to our very important lessons.
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