Schools Should Aim to be Places Students are Happy to Attend
School can be serious, but we shouldn’t forget that as much as possible it should be fun. This thought came to me as I stopped by the Todd River near my home and watched an enthusiastic hound roar backwards and forwards across the river having fun and chasing, I don’t know what. If I had been closer, I would have seen that wonderful hound smile on his little face. Sitting for long periods of time wasn’t really my thing at school and my mind would readily roar across my own cerebral Todd River. At university a long lecture with a boring presenter would readily send me to sleep and when I awoke, I hoped I hadn’t been snoring! In fact, in Third Year Economic History a 12.00 lecture in the warm Monash Rotunda lecture theatre was deathly for me and my good friend Dave, who normally sat with me, would elbow me in the chest to bring me back to life.
As a teacher I was conscious of the problem of boredom, but I would be dishonest if I didn’t acknowledge the fact that some of my lessons bored the students. I think often lessons that were too long were potential culprits.
When I was chair of the Independent Schools Council of Australia, I was asked to attend the Business Managers’ Conference that was being held in Hobart.
One of the presenters was promoting a Student’s Chair in which students could move and fidget. To make his point he had everyone stand up and hold one arm out in front of them. After two minutes people’s arms were dropping like flies. Point made. He made the observation that we often expect students to remain relatively still through a class, an exercise that is unnatural as the Body needs to move frequently. The chairs that he was promoting encouraged such movement. I think that now quite a few schools have these dynamic chairs.
Back to my observation of the hound roaring across the Todd. Clearly to me he/she was having enormous fun and so was I watching. I grabbed a piece of cardboard lying in the car and started writing.
A SPEEDY HOUND
I’m a simple hound but speedy,
I’m a bit of this and that you know.
I love to run at top speed
And present a thrilling show.
My owner gives up hope
Of controlling my wild excursions,
That often seems to take me
Far from box and bed and home.
Nothing beats the Todd you know,
For a place to streak and chase;
The birds, the bugs and kangas
Across that wild and sandy place.
I know my owner worries,
Because of course I am his first concern.
But I’m a hound who seeks adventure,
As my spirit always churns.
Yep, I’m surely a simple hound but speedy
With fur flying in the breeze.
As I roar on past the Red Gums,
My whiskers flying past those trees.
Please don’t Koop me up, tie me up,
And destroy my daily fun.
For I’m a simple hound but speedy,
Who loves to run and run and run.
SOME QUOTES ABOUT TEACHING WHICH MAY BE HELPFUL
Chris Tudor: “Know your students and understand them well. Make education fun. Be aware of Boredom. Don’t koop them up and stop them running. Know what makes them happy - don’t just assume. If they are happy, they’ll learn better. Know when to stop an activity if it is not working.”
William Butler Yeats: “Education is not the filling of a pail but the lighting of a fire.”
Benjamin Franklin: “Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn.”
Margaret Mead: “Children must be taught how to think, not what to think.”
William Arthur Ward: “The mediocre teacher tells. The good teacher explains. The superior teacher demonstrates. The great teacher inspires.”
Written by Chris Tudor
