A quick funny

I was busy answering e-mail while the kidlets were playing upstairs. Every now and again I’d hear a piercing scream, followed by, “Don’t take my toy!” but when no blood was involved, I didn’t worry.

Then suddenly, I realized it had been silent. Any mother who has toddlers knows that silence is more deadly than screams and bloodshed. Because they’re UP TO SOMETHING.

I ran from the office and noticed that both bedroom doors were closed. Bad. This is very bad.

I open my son’s bedroom door. Nothing. He’s not there.

I hear the sound of giggles coming from my daughter’s room. I throw open her door and find my son wearing a blanket on his head like an Arabian sheikh, my daughter holding a similar blanket.

Him: “Hi, Mom! We’re just playing with ourselves.”

Oh, Lord.

If it Ain’t Broke…

They’re doing it again. Mom, make them stop!

At our school, we have approximately a 90% and above pass rate for our standards of learning. Every year we keep striving for higher, which is good, but it means people start tinkering with the system.

Do you ever find this happening in your work environment? When something is working well, we have to now add MORE requirements and more paperwork? Hey, we’re doing great! Let’s now heap even more things on our work force! Let’s write daily objectives on the board (never mind the fact that the kids often won’t read their homework assignment off the board)! Let’s diversify our learning and have three separate lessons going on! Let’s give them Internet-based work assignments (never mind that we have only three computers in the classroom)!

Truly, this is all bells and whistles. For me to teach these kids, I have to know them. I have to understand their interests, their funny little minds, and their needs. That’s what it’s about: people, not paperwork. Every child is different. The needs are different. Until you know your classroom, all the lesson objectives, learning styles, and motivators won’t work.

Besides. It’s much simpler than folks with a PhD in education could ever imagine.

A child will learn anything if bubble gum is involved.