Reflections on Teaching

First, Scott McLeod from Dangerously Irrelevent has a post on engagement of male students based on a Witchita newspaper report (which is very nicely written). Then, my dh (dearest husband), sent me a link to a CNN article on extending school day. If you go halfway down, there is an interesting section which talks about using enrichment (read fun, non-academic, craft) classes to help push the academic agenda. I liked that, so I thought I’d share. Here is the quote:

Schools that are experimenting with longer days are adding more down time and enrichment courses, as well as reading and math.

At Edwards Middle School, an extended-day school in Boston, students are staging musicals, designing book covers for favorite novels and coming up with new cheers to boost school spirit — an activity favored by 13-year-old Janice Tang.

“This is a class where I can express myself, be active,” Tang said one afternoon after she pumped her arms in the air during a girls-only class that incorporates cheering with topics such as sex education and discouraging smoking. “It’s very cool, and I have fun a lot.”

Massachusetts’ education commissioner, David Driscoll, said the offbeat classes get kids excited about a longer day.

“Once they’re engaged, they’ll learn other lessons,” Driscoll said. “I think the big mistake that everybody makes is they think that education is all about the academics.