About Education 3

(Continue from my previous post ...)

For example you can have day 1 (literature 3 hours (20 min) + cultural studies 3 hours (20 min) with all brakes by 5 min will be 150 min, which is 2 h 30 min. This is the usual time for a lessons. But in the new program we can include a morning routine sport class – by dividing groups of children in many different activities, with music ,which will be 20 + 20 min each day. Some children can like to attend ballet class, some gymnastics, some aerobic, dance, some yoga, swimming, aikido, and so on. This morning routine will make fresh start of the day and will make the mind of child more positive about next brain-lessons. Be sure, your school will become attractive place. If we calculate the time now the total time of study will be 3 hours and 10 min. what do you think? Will child be bored and tired to go to school? 

I want to add more – not only the education system is old and out of function, but some subjects should be changed immensely, and others to be added. Sport and recreation activities should be added as well as : basic philosophy, ancient civilizations study, history of religion study (all religions), ethics and psychology. 

So for people ,who are interested in exact science, or for people with humanitarian attitude, we cant force them to study all kind of subjects, they don’t feel found of until 12 class. That is really waste of time and energy. Instead make obligatory subjects until the first 3 years of school education. Then separate groups with similar interests, as some groups by the time can be changed, as individual interests may change too. So be flexible. I want to speak also from my own experience in education and my memories. (I`ll include this section here ,as I think all experiences are important to show us the weak points of a system).

II. When I was little, there was in my school obligatory sport which we called “physical culture”. This was one of the most hated lessons from girls specially, because it was applied in more or less brutal way. The teacher in this discipline was very overbearing, looked to students as they are slaves or soldiers, She wore a dark-blue sport suit and had always one crazy whistle hanged on her neck. So she was whistling all the time for any reason and made stress in the students. She never laughed, nor smiled at all. She put students in front on size –from taller to smaller, all were obliged to have special clothes –white t shirt and blue pants (which really for girls looked more like bikini than pants and was very embarrassing for me in this time), we should have blue sport shoes, and white short shocks. So all this requirements, didn’t make me to love to “play sport”. What we did? Just exercises if weather was not so good, and on some strange devices…or we just made competition and ran outside (which also I disliked much). I want to determined, that if I would have in this time chance to choose, to study for example some kind of dance, ballet, or swimming, I would be 100 times happier. But there was no chance and we always had to face the bitter face with much make up of the teacher. So that’s it. (imagine we even had marks in this!) 

Second thing I disliked was mathematics. My brain is simply not going in mathematics and formulas ,they seem pointless to me. So I would be much more effective in my later (education, study, and life too) if I had instead math until 12 class, and countless lessons, which I dislike, some more classes in language and literature, or history, which I love. 

This is the point. The change is never painless, but it`s something we cant avoid, specially concerning future generations, which we succeed to make in our way and black color. 

About the school schedule, I think despite this 20 + 20 min port, dance, activity in the morning, should be also 20 min meditation included. So now it becomes 1 hour before other subjects. Other subjects will be much better accepted ,if the brain is calm and quiet before that. Some subjects we need to add are “principles of healthy eating and food” (this we strangely ignore well ,despite the fact the generations suffer more and more from weight related illnesses and obesity, due to lack of information about foods), “basic medical health” which will inform you about what medicines are rather not god for your body, and what natural remedies can substitute them in case of illness, “social relations” which will give you perspective of social psychology, as well as how to achieve what you want with simple steps, how to follow your personal call, how to be successful, and build a positive thinking in you, how to communicate well with others. “Culture and festivals around the world” will make you familiar with other customs, traditions and interesting facts, and open your mind. 

When the school day starts at 8 am, with sport, dance recreations, and meditation class, until 9 am. Then subject class will be from (9.10 – 9.30), 1. from 9.35 – 9.55; 3. 10.00 – 10.20 (subject 1) 

2. from 10.30 – 10.50, 10.55 – 11.15; 11.20 – 11.40 (subject 2) 

3. from 11.45 – 12.05 (one of additional subjects (healthy eating” medical health”, “festivals …” so the school day is completed. 

The principles of the new educational system are: simplicity, synthesis, individual approach, focus on visual memory. Repeating is important for each lesson, but should be in natural way, slowly and unfolding every day. Don’t let children to be like parrots and repeat information in crazy way memorizing from one day to another. This is meaningless. Give homework “games or quizzes” only to children who are interested and have willing to make them, and give them also about that more prizes (or points). Don’t make system to be based on punishment for something not done, but rather on progressive competition for something well done from them! Also based on personal development and motivation. Make grades in form of points and bonuses, which are added ,but don’t exclude students, if they don’t have enough points, but encourage them to be more active. Notice what is child attitude ,likes and personal tastes, and make emphasize on that. 

III. Synthesis and minimization of all learning materials (student books) to the very basic level. Imagine we are all children and need to see pictures in books. So should be the education system. Make it colorful, attractive, full of images, expressive, nice, smiling. Make the education to be not painful process more and be directed to practical activities and preparation for future life experiences, not empty shell of “ thrown in garbage papers” and materials. Make the brain developed its ways, not put stamp from the social status, norms and teachings above it from young age. In this path we should go. 

About Education 2

Continue from part 1.

These are some of the main things, we need to change. To unwind the issue (a) The time of school hours is really critical. A child (the same as bored office clerk at work) waits impatiently to finish the hour and what he wants is? Not to understand material now, not to feel happy, but to hide from teacher, to not be examined, and to go to next subject, lesson, then to go home and leave all this behind. So how do you expect this system will develop nice and satisfied and effective people in the future? The school lesson time now is 40 -45 min. This time wouldn’t be so long for individual, who puts all his efforts and motivation in some subject. But for the case of school children, specially now is too much. Cut this time to 20-25 min. (of course here most teachers would object that this is very little and impossible to teach even new lesson, but if you have the right methods, and the right manner , plus discipline, it`s immensely more effective). In this time (so short as you may think) try to make the brain of children awaken, unfold his imagination, creativity, memory and understanding. How you can make this magic? Here comes the 

(b) solution – change the teaching way. 

What do you see, and imagine when someone say to you “school-girl, school boy” ? I see, and imagine little child, with a very big and heavy bad on his shoulders, which is 3 times the size of the child, who is hardly moving on the way, accompanied by a mother, aunt, grandmother…Why this child should carry “stones” in his school bag? So many subjects he study just for one day? Then.. he should be at least genius! In the future, why we don’t finally grow up many genius like this? But he is not, nor he will become. Exactly because of the principle “quantity versus quality”. So by having 101 books don’t expect the child to have knowledge for 101 things. He is empty shell, filled by force with information, which he doesn’t have place to store! And throw it away. Then what we should do? Now come inside the class and look. What do you see? The teacher is sitting, with an open book, say to the child “read the first sentence on page 3, make the first task on that page…come to the bored ,write solution”. Going inside this book, teacher gives orders, like from another world. He has not real connection with the child, don’t support his growing process, he support only education system, and what should be done. This lesson should be finished, this pages …and so on. Teacher is a “master” even not nice one. He is not guru, even not “sacred” anymore as it used to be. He is a bad master with gun, with a lash, giving orders, expecting obedience, and punishing. So what he should do? First of all, teacher needs to be close to children, to feel he is part of them, then he can be seen as higher, because of his experience and age. Teacher needs to be most respected, and to deserve this reward. He is master, magician, but kind and loving. He is not punishing, but he is showing the way. So make him to be with a screen, rather than a book, and take children to a visual travel of the subject (if it`s geography, biology, chemistry) give children visual experiences, because this is the true and most memorizing way to their brain. 

I ll give an example. If the teacher is in literature, don’t explain the long and boring sometimes biography of the writer, count his novels (which no one remember with dates altogether), instead project a short movie with very basic things about the writer – showing the place he was born, the memorial of the place, his home (museum), his family photo, photo of him, what were his likes and preferences, and slowly develop the story in history of his life, then of his work. (people are not separated from their achievements of works, so don’t make them to be) By making this visual trip, you`ll awaken interest in childs mind, and even if you don’t (as all children are different individuals) at least surely he ll have this movie about the writer in his mind, his monument, or some little detail, so this he will have stable in his mind. * for biology and geography subject also you could make miracles just by showing one simple movie and how is one animal looks like, or how bird migration looks like. 

Of course the child wont remember all from first time. Don’t expect that, so here comes the ( c ) and (d) make flexible program, and concentrate on some subjects for the day. You cant think that childs mind will be well and developing, if you put in one program 5-6 subjects. Dear reader, I want you now to go and read one magazine in geography for 40 min. then please go and listen one only program in Tv for 40 min, then go and read one high classic book “Victor Hugo” for 40 min, then read one blog about biological diversity of pelicans for 40 min, and after all please write a review of what you remember. If you remember 50% then will be good, maybe your brain is well developed and trained. So now imagine a little child, who should remember all that 5 subject for a day! What do you feel? 

The approach should be clear –shorten and change. When you show the writers background and home and photos on a movie, this is just one lesson. Next lesson continue with some reading passage from his work (don’t say what others wrote about him like critiques), and ask the student what are his own thoughts about that, what he imagine, how he can relate this passage to the movie before (u`ll be surprised how well children can think). Then take the next or same lesson (and one subject) and make little quiz exercise on what child remember, feel and think about this writer, allowing him to be expressive, no matter of likes or dislikes, while not tolerate of course bad and offensive vocabulary. This short quiz may include game element, making a score and reaching to high result, and little reward for the winner (if its about less than 10 year child). This will make the atmosphere more vivid, interesting and nice for children. So after this 3 lessons (by 20 min each) we have total time of 1 hour (in which children will know more and feel better ,compared to now 40 min lesson empty of all). Then have 3 more lessons (by 20 min) in another subject (also made them to be well fitting together, if you had literature , have a linguistic, a language or cultural studies)