Hello, everyone out there in cyber land tonight. I thought I would stop slacking and write yet another post concerning homeschooling, so I thought up another interesting topic. This time, it’s on the different ways children learn. This is going to be a fun one because I can’t even imagine all the possibilities, and that’s saying something for someone with my imagination.
Why do I even pick a topic like this, and how is it even relevant? You already have you’re teaching style, so why would you want to change? In fact, you don’t want to change. Well, it’s important because I think that it holds the key to many attention problems, including ADHD. You probably won’t all agree with me, but...that’s ok, because I’m currently quite unpopular and its ten o’clock at night, so I don’t have a thing to lose.
I can tell you from personal experience that I had no idea how I actually learned until I went to college. I will say that I totally miss homeschooling and the simple, easy structure of workbooks. But, I want to say that the way I learn is peculiar, and if I learn in an odd way, other people probably have other, odder ways. I personally learn best when I am multitasking and doing at least two things at once. Most people watch me and think I am insane or not paying attention. Yep, I am the student that sits there and doodles during class, or plays Solitaire on their phone. Or I confuse the teachers because they think I am writing notes when I am actually writing down ideas pertaining to another class or one of my many writing projects. It isn’t that I’m not paying attention; it’s simply that I have to be doing more than one thing to concentrate on anything. I ask questions in class and am still engaged, which probably confuses my teachers even more, but as a student that is usually top of their class, you can’t say that I’m not doing something right. I used to dictate script lines to my friend, which she would type while I did word-finds. She thought I was crazy...rephrase, I think she still does. Anyways, the point is that people learn in different ways, and you should be aware of that. Some children can learn by memorization – I did this for my music. Still others learn by actually reading the books and following the proper procedures. The good news is that most kids probably fit into this category, but there are a few special outliers that are going to need special attention. Some other people learn really well by hands-on experiences. Some people can also concentrate extremely well by listening to music, while others can concentrate at all with music. It doesn’t really matter the method, as long as you have figured it out and understand how to teach, so that they can learn. I know...it’s not easy.
It’s especially worth noting that boys seem really prone to wiggling while learning, or hands-on learning. I can truthfully say that I have run across some really wiggly kids in my teaching experiences (which are admittedly limited) and it is usually a sign of boredom. This is also something that I do. I used to wiggle so much in my friend’s church that I would rock the entire pew! Hmmm...maybe I should rephrase the “used to part.” Either my legs are always moving in class, or I’m doing piano scales with my fingers. One of my other friends is always running through the sign-language alphabet with her fingers. Now that we are grown up, they are seen as funny quirks, but when we were younger, they could probably have been seen as annoying or a failure to pay attention. Neither of which is really true at all.
Now, there totally is such a thing as day dreaming, not paying attention, and disrespect; don’t get me wrong there. My point is merely to say that everyone learns differently, and figuring out the way your child learns could make a lot less frustrating for the both of you. Should a child that struggles with ADD be taught to sit still and pay attention? I think so. They’re going to have to some day. But if they are simply bored or not challenged enough, then the fault isn’t with them. It’s your job, as their personalized teacher, to figure out what works best.
Anyways, there’s my two cents for tonight. Here’s to a happy, wiggly, learning experience!
Why do I even pick a topic like this, and how is it even relevant? You already have you’re teaching style, so why would you want to change? In fact, you don’t want to change. Well, it’s important because I think that it holds the key to many attention problems, including ADHD. You probably won’t all agree with me, but...that’s ok, because I’m currently quite unpopular and its ten o’clock at night, so I don’t have a thing to lose.
I can tell you from personal experience that I had no idea how I actually learned until I went to college. I will say that I totally miss homeschooling and the simple, easy structure of workbooks. But, I want to say that the way I learn is peculiar, and if I learn in an odd way, other people probably have other, odder ways. I personally learn best when I am multitasking and doing at least two things at once. Most people watch me and think I am insane or not paying attention. Yep, I am the student that sits there and doodles during class, or plays Solitaire on their phone. Or I confuse the teachers because they think I am writing notes when I am actually writing down ideas pertaining to another class or one of my many writing projects. It isn’t that I’m not paying attention; it’s simply that I have to be doing more than one thing to concentrate on anything. I ask questions in class and am still engaged, which probably confuses my teachers even more, but as a student that is usually top of their class, you can’t say that I’m not doing something right. I used to dictate script lines to my friend, which she would type while I did word-finds. She thought I was crazy...rephrase, I think she still does. Anyways, the point is that people learn in different ways, and you should be aware of that. Some children can learn by memorization – I did this for my music. Still others learn by actually reading the books and following the proper procedures. The good news is that most kids probably fit into this category, but there are a few special outliers that are going to need special attention. Some other people learn really well by hands-on experiences. Some people can also concentrate extremely well by listening to music, while others can concentrate at all with music. It doesn’t really matter the method, as long as you have figured it out and understand how to teach, so that they can learn. I know...it’s not easy.
It’s especially worth noting that boys seem really prone to wiggling while learning, or hands-on learning. I can truthfully say that I have run across some really wiggly kids in my teaching experiences (which are admittedly limited) and it is usually a sign of boredom. This is also something that I do. I used to wiggle so much in my friend’s church that I would rock the entire pew! Hmmm...maybe I should rephrase the “used to part.” Either my legs are always moving in class, or I’m doing piano scales with my fingers. One of my other friends is always running through the sign-language alphabet with her fingers. Now that we are grown up, they are seen as funny quirks, but when we were younger, they could probably have been seen as annoying or a failure to pay attention. Neither of which is really true at all.
Now, there totally is such a thing as day dreaming, not paying attention, and disrespect; don’t get me wrong there. My point is merely to say that everyone learns differently, and figuring out the way your child learns could make a lot less frustrating for the both of you. Should a child that struggles with ADD be taught to sit still and pay attention? I think so. They’re going to have to some day. But if they are simply bored or not challenged enough, then the fault isn’t with them. It’s your job, as their personalized teacher, to figure out what works best.
Anyways, there’s my two cents for tonight. Here’s to a happy, wiggly, learning experience!