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Tuesday, September 17, 2013

Butcher Knives and other questionable teaching practices

   " Mrs. Tasa, my dad was just amazed that we used butcher knives in school yesterday."  That was my first indication that the fantastic learning experience we had the day before might not be understood by everyone. I have a tendency to get caught up in my own world of reggio, waldorf, project-based learning and forget to consider that my teaching practices are not always the norm. You see, we had planted a garden at the home of a retired teacher last June. We planted potatoes, beans, onions and carrots. Then this September we went back to harvest our crop. It was not that special for most of my farm kids but the students who have never seen a garden carrot were amazed. They all made the connection that our food comes from somewhere. It doesn't arrive on the store shelves magically. So...what to do with our harvest? we made soup. My grade ones washed the veggies, peeled and even chopped(with the safest of practices, I assure you). Then we cooked it up and enjoyed our hard work. Using a knife was so important to the process. I want to build independence and a feeling of pride in our accomplishments. They did it themselves, you see. That soup tasted fantastic!!!
  I feel so strongly about letting children have the room to make mistakes. Should they climb up that part of the playground? they could fall and hurt themselves. yes, they could but that would be a valuable experience (as long as the potential to hurt themselves is nothing more than a bruise). If they never fall, how will they learn to face the fear of falling and climb up again? We can't protect them from each and every opportunity to err or we rob them of the learning process they deserve.
   In my classroom I can shape their experiences to develop their independence. I sometimes fill my water table with wood, small hammers and tools and nails. With some training on how to safely hammer a nail, they experience the joy of creating with wood. I feel like I am barely touching the surface of the wealth of knowledge out there about allowing children to explore creatively. The jobs our students will be doing in their adult lives will value innovation and creativity. They will need those skills to survive.
   so...butcher knives?...absolutely!


 

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