An Unappreciated Ability.
It's an all too familiar picture, the teacher walks into the room and begins to talk. The child gazes wistfully out of the window drifting far away on an imaginative flight of fancy. Observing the inattentive student the teacher fires a question in her direction. Unable to answer the student is reduced to an embarrassed shameful silence. Hardly the most productive emotional state for learning.
This is the negative image of daydreaming that many of us hold - a hindrance to the learning process. Billy Bunter, the most famous fictitious public schoolboy of all time (after Tom Brown), regularly attempted to extricate himself from the exact same situation with the response "1066 Sir". The law of averages would dictate he was bound to get it right eventually.
What we are doing is effectively denigrating the brain's most powerful ability - the imagination.
The Power Of The Big Picture
Great leaders have always been visionaries able to inspire others with the Big Picture.
President J F Kennedy had no idea of the technical challenges involved in getting a man to the moon but he motivated a nation to meet that challenge and succeed.
Dr Martin Luthor King went to the mountain top and others followed.
Winston Churchill inspired Britain to stand firm before the might of Nazi Germany as Europe threatened to slip into darkness.
They painted an irresistible picture in the minds of men through the power of the spoken word. Imagination embraced the dream and the dream became reality.
Teach Children To Dream Big Dreams
Einstein said "Imagination is more important than knowledge."
Captivate the heart and mind through the power of the imagination and knowledge will follow. If we are inspired to accomplish something, if the dream is big enough we will acquire the skills and knowledge we need to create the reality we desire.
Captivate the heart and mind through the power of the imagination and knowledge will follow. If we are inspired to accomplish something, if the dream is big enough we will acquire the skills and knowledge we need to create the reality we desire.
"The soul," said Aristotle, "cannot think without a picture."
The dream is an intangible picture by which we create a tangible future.
Nothing ever happens without a dream.
A man or woman with a clear dream can achieve anything. If your dream is big enough nothing else matters. Walt Disney lived by that truth and children everywhere have enjoyed the fruit of his vision.
The dream is an intangible picture by which we create a tangible future.
Nothing ever happens without a dream.
A man or woman with a clear dream can achieve anything. If your dream is big enough nothing else matters. Walt Disney lived by that truth and children everywhere have enjoyed the fruit of his vision.
That is why the learning process should always begin with an appeal to the imagination. Children should always be given the Big Picture not asked to follow blindly step by step a well-worn path that has been trod many times before.
Reading: The Big Picture
How can we help motivate children to read?
Inspire them!
Inspire them!
Parents have a crucial role to play.
Does your child ever see you 'lost' in a book? Do you spend time reading to them so that it becomes associated with a pleasurable, intimate experience? How do you value reading?
Does your child ever see you 'lost' in a book? Do you spend time reading to them so that it becomes associated with a pleasurable, intimate experience? How do you value reading?
The ability to read fluently is probably one of the greatest gifts we can give our children. Reading enables us to see with the eyes of our imagination beyond the mundane and the ordinary where there are no limitations.
Edison declared, "I never think in words only pictures."
Edison declared, "I never think in words only pictures."
Like Lucy we can stare into the shadowy depths of the wardrobe and glimpse strange and magical worlds.
We can leap into the breaking surf and stand alongside Achilles as he gazes up at the shimmering walls of Troy and dreams of immortal glory.
We can shudder in dark underground caverns as we huddle alongside Bilbo Baggins and listen in terror for the flapping of webbed feet on the cold hard floor.
To deny children entrance to these worlds is nothing short of a crime.
Phonics? Humbug!
Phonics? Humbug!
A plea to parents! Leave the technicalities to teachers.
It's a sad fact that education will always be a political football.
As I write synthetic phonics is gaining the ascendancy in the U.K.
Don't even ask! As parents you don't really need to know. Your role is to encourage and inspire.
It's a sad fact that education will always be a political football.
As I write synthetic phonics is gaining the ascendancy in the U.K.
Don't even ask! As parents you don't really need to know. Your role is to encourage and inspire.
Many children will become fluent readers almost naturally regardless of how they are taught. Sadly, there will be others for whom it becomes a struggle or, worse, a source of humiliation. These are the children who need to be motivated not constantly confronted with their own perceived inadequacy compared to everyone else. UK. and U.S. prisons are full of young people who never learnt to read properly and consequently branded themselves as failures or inadequate.
Children need to hear themselves succeed. They need to be driven by success. There is a method ideally suited to this. It is based on motivating children to read and has been used successfully by parents and by peer mentors. It is not based on any technical knowledge. It does not focus in on failure. It is based on improving a child's reading flow and reflects the results from research into brain-based learning.
How Audio-Books Can Develop Your Imagination
How Audio-Books Can Develop Your Imagination
TV destroys the imagination. Audio nurtures it.
I have seen many superb Sci Fi movies where technology has made the impossible appear real but nothing bears comparison to the childhood experience of listening to Dan Dare on the radio every Sunday evening. That was truly creepy. As magnificent as Lord Of The Rings may be on-screen it could not compare with what was conjured by my imagination as I read the printed word.
I have seen many superb Sci Fi movies where technology has made the impossible appear real but nothing bears comparison to the childhood experience of listening to Dan Dare on the radio every Sunday evening. That was truly creepy. As magnificent as Lord Of The Rings may be on-screen it could not compare with what was conjured by my imagination as I read the printed word.
Children need to listen to great stories read by gifted storytellers. They need to be given the big picture of what reading is truly about. This is where audio-books can have a dramatic influence. Read the comments below that reflect one reader's experience of listening to an audio recording of The Alamo by the Colonial Radio Theatre. It is an experience he will obviously never forget.
Audio-books model good reading, set the imagination free and touch the emotions.
Before retirement Phil Rowlands was a primary school headteacher in the UK for 27 years. He has a deep interest in brain-based-research particularly with regard to how it impacts on children's learning and is the author of several learning programs including the multi-sensory early years math program, "Ensure Your Child Succeeds At Math". If you are interested in learning more about the method to help motivate children to read fluently referred to in the article then visithttp://www.HelpYourChildSucceed.com/Dreams.htm where it can be downloaded for free. Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Phil_Rowlands |
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