Hi, im a teacher in a montessori primary school class with 10 children
age 8-12, I see them for an hour twice a week, and I told them about
Contemporary History, I use additional material besides story telling,
like pictures, videos, maps, I also try them to understand the sense
of the events (the causes of historical events) so they can have some
kind of intuition about how things go, and to find the logic in the
sucesion of events. My concern is with the behavour of the children,
some of them put complete attention and get really involved, but
others dont, some of them play, move, talk or bother other children,
so the focus of their attention changes constantly, I manage to get
them back into the tale and they do so, until the focus again changes.
So I constantly ask them for their attention. In general they are
learning history and they like very much taking the class.
Other teachers demand a complete quietness (in behavour and speech)
otherwise they dont go on with the tale, they talk very seriously to
the children that begin to change the focus of attention, so they get
really quiet, the atmosphere becomes serious. With this way of action
the teacher can explain better and get deeper into the story without
interruptions (but im not sure if all the kids are really following
the story or just behaving quietly). What Id like to figure out is how
quiet should the children be, I mean how much play can they have
during a class. Do they have to learn to keep quiet in order to listen
better, or should they be allowed to have certain level of game
activity?
To go deeper into any problem I think it is good to put that problem, or rather that challenge, into a wider perspective. That wider perspective could be: why are children send to school and what is it that parents and teachers want them to learn? Krishnamurti said that "the real problem in education is the educator". In any action of education it is important to understand that both the child and the educator are learning together, really together. Learning to understand how their mind works, learning that quality of sensitivity that can observe any situation in life. If that is of primary importance then we shall create circumstances that make this kind of learning possible. And I do not see how this can be done with a large number of children and just one teacher, because the teacher should have the opportunity to pay attention to each child.
It may be interesting to read K's The Right Kind of Education in his book Education and the Significance of Life. On p.33 he writes:
"Discipline is an easy way to control a child, but it does not help him to understand the problems involved in living. Some forms of compulsion, the discipline of punishment and reward, may be necessary to maintain order and seeming quietness among a large number of students herded together in a classroom; but with the right kind of educator and a small number of students, would any repression, politely called discipline, be required? If the classes are small and the teacher can give his full attention to each child, observing and helping him, then compulsion or domination in any form is obviously unnecessary. If, in such a group, a student persists in disorderliness or is unreasonably mischievous, the educator must inquire into the cause of his misbehaviour, which may be wrong diet, lack of rest, family wrangles, or some hidden fear. Implicit in right education is the cultivation of freedom and intelligence, which is not possible if there is any form of compulsion, with its fears. After all, the concern of the educator is to help the student to understand the complexities of his whole being. To require him to supress one part of his nature for the benefit of some other part is to create in him an endless conflict which results in social antagonism."
This does not mean that children should be allowed to behave just as they wish. K writes that "the right kind of education will encourage thoughtfulness and consideration for others without enticements or threats of any kind. If we no longer seek immediate results, we shall begin to see how important it is that both the educator and the child should be free from the fear of punishment and the hope of reward, and from every other form of compulsion; but compulsion will continue as long as authority is part of relationship."
It is my personal experience that children are wonderful partners to live with, and we have a lot to learn together. They are so alive and always ready to explore the "now". I am certain you experience that joy and I hope you may find ways to create circumstances in which you can come closer to each child individually. Then you may find that they are ready for silence and ready for games!
Kind regards, Ann
-----Oorspronkelijk bericht----- Van: Krishnamurti-and-education@googlegroups.com [mailto:Krishnamurti-and-education@googlegroups.com] Namens JoseManuel Verzonden: zaterdag 10 mei 2008 23:47 Aan: Krishnamurti-and-education Onderwerp: Level of activity in the classroom
Hi, im a teacher in a montessori primary school class with 10 children age 8-12, I see them for an hour twice a week, and I told them about Contemporary History, I use additional material besides story telling, like pictures, videos, maps, I also try them to understand the sense of the events (the causes of historical events) so they can have some kind of intuition about how things go, and to find the logic in the sucesion of events. My concern is with the behavour of the children, some of them put complete attention and get really involved, but others dont, some of them play, move, talk or bother other children, so the focus of their attention changes constantly, I manage to get them back into the tale and they do so, until the focus again changes. So I constantly ask them for their attention. In general they are learning history and they like very much taking the class. Other teachers demand a complete quietness (in behavour and speech) otherwise they dont go on with the tale, they talk very seriously to the children that begin to change the focus of attention, so they get really quiet, the atmosphere becomes serious. With this way of action the teacher can explain better and get deeper into the story without interruptions (but im not sure if all the kids are really following the story or just behaving quietly). What Id like to figure out is how quiet should the children be, I mean how much play can they have during a class. Do they have to learn to keep quiet in order to listen better, or should they be allowed to have certain level of game activity?
Hi Ann, Thank you for your comments, I understand that teaching implies a daily effort to understand whats happening in the classroom and the relationship with each one of the students. I can see that there can be no method, each class is a "unit" with unique characteristics, so the problems in it should be solved from inside of the group and not whith the help from an external method, if this is correct, a large amount of the time of the class would be dedicated to discuss a lot of aspects of life, the aspects that create the spontaneous reactions that the children show, and the knowledge and understanding of the class subject would flow parallel.
This is what I think after reading and considering your reply.
[mailto:Krishnamurti-and-education@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of Ann Vandewege Sent: Domingo, 11 de Mayo de 2008 03:36 a.m. To: Krishnamurti-and-education@googlegroups.com Subject: RE: Level of activity in the classroom
Dear José Manuel,
To go deeper into any problem I think it is good to put that problem, or rather that challenge, into a wider perspective. That wider perspective could be: why are children send to school and what is it that parents and teachers want them to learn? Krishnamurti said that "the real problem in education is the educator". In any action of education it is important to understand that both the child and the educator are learning together, really together. Learning to understand how their mind works, learning that quality of sensitivity that can observe any situation in life. If that is of primary importance then we shall create circumstances that make this kind of learning possible. And I do not see how this can be done with a large number of children and just one teacher, because the teacher should have the opportunity to pay attention to each child.
It may be interesting to read K's The Right Kind of Education in his book Education and the Significance of Life. On p.33 he writes:
"Discipline is an easy way to control a child, but it does not help him to understand the problems involved in living. Some forms of compulsion, the discipline of punishment and reward, may be necessary to maintain order and seeming quietness among a large number of students herded together in a classroom; but with the right kind of educator and a small number of students, would any repression, politely called discipline, be required? If the classes are small and the teacher can give his full attention to each child, observing and helping him, then compulsion or domination in any form is obviously unnecessary. If, in such a group, a student persists in disorderliness or is unreasonably mischievous, the educator must inquire into the cause of his misbehaviour, which may be wrong diet, lack of rest, family wrangles, or some hidden fear. Implicit in right education is the cultivation of freedom and intelligence, which is not possible if there is any form of compulsion, with its fears. After all, the concern of the educator is to help the student to understand the complexities of his whole being. To require him to supress one part of his nature for the benefit of some other part is to create in him an endless conflict which results in social antagonism."
This does not mean that children should be allowed to behave just as they wish. K writes that "the right kind of education will encourage thoughtfulness and consideration for others without enticements or threats of any kind. If we no longer seek immediate results, we shall begin to see how important it is that both the educator and the child should be free from the fear of punishment and the hope of reward, and from every other form of compulsion; but compulsion will continue as long as authority is part of relationship."
It is my personal experience that children are wonderful partners to live with, and we have a lot to learn together. They are so alive and always ready to explore the "now". I am certain you experience that joy and I hope you may find ways to create circumstances in which you can come closer to each child individually. Then you may find that they are ready for silence and ready for games!
Kind regards, Ann
-----Oorspronkelijk bericht----- Van: Krishnamurti-and-education@googlegroups.com [mailto:Krishnamurti-and-education@googlegroups.com] Namens JoseManuel Verzonden: zaterdag 10 mei 2008 23:47 Aan: Krishnamurti-and-education Onderwerp: Level of activity in the classroom
Hi, im a teacher in a montessori primary school class with 10 children age 8-12, I see them for an hour twice a week, and I told them about Contemporary History, I use additional material besides story telling, like pictures, videos, maps, I also try them to understand the sense of the events (the causes of historical events) so they can have some kind of intuition about how things go, and to find the logic in the sucesion of events. My concern is with the behavour of the children, some of them put complete attention and get really involved, but others dont, some of them play, move, talk or bother other children, so the focus of their attention changes constantly, I manage to get them back into the tale and they do so, until the focus again changes. So I constantly ask them for their attention. In general they are learning history and they like very much taking the class. Other teachers demand a complete quietness (in behavour and speech) otherwise they dont go on with the tale, they talk very seriously to the children that begin to change the focus of attention, so they get really quiet, the atmosphere becomes serious. With this way of action the teacher can explain better and get deeper into the story without interruptions (but im not sure if all the kids are really following the story or just behaving quietly). What Id like to figure out is how quiet should the children be, I mean how much play can they have during a class. Do they have to learn to keep quiet in order to listen better, or should they be allowed to have certain level of game activity?
