Unlock the Love of Learning
Originally Published: May 2002 Coloring with my four-year-old niece, I adjusted her grip on the crayon with encouraging assurances that this would eventually make it easier for her get just the effect she wanted. She appeased me for a while, then decided she didn’t want to color any more—at least not with me. As teachers, …
Originally Published: April 2003 A man crouches next to his children’s bed in the middle of the night. He gently shakes them awake and in the soft glow of the nightlight they can make out their dad’s face and some sort of ball. He picks up his daughter’s hand and places it on top of …
Originally Published: April 2000 Even when teaching methods are effective in helping a student understand concepts, something more subtle can leave him with the feeling that he is incompetent or that learning is boring. If you want your students to have a life-long love of learning and the self-confidence necessary to eventually learn on their …
Originally Published: January/February 2006 The one-size-fits-all approach to education emphasizes method. For a student to be successful, he must prove again and again that he can do assignments as they are set before him. Typically, that means plenty of handwriting—copying, taking notes, showing work in math, writing compositions, and so on. It means following oral …
Originally Published: February 2000 An environment that encourages creativity is one that includes opportunities for children to explore and discover, and offers a broad base of experiences followed by opportunities for imitation. That, I think, is common knowledge. Another very important ingredient, however, may frequently be overlooked—the specific training in skills that will allow students …