Norah Colvin

Live Love Laugh Learn … Create the possibilities

Category: Literacy education

  • Aren’t they amazing!

    Children, I mean.

    birthday cake 2

    My gorgeous little granddaughter is two years old today, and what a wonderful opportunity that provides me to reflect on the marvels of children’s ability to wonder and learn. I am forever in awe of their ability to learn language and all its nuances.

    Some people say they are “sponges”, spongebut I say they are far more than that. They are creators of their own understandings, learning far more than anyone could ever possibly teach them. From the moment they are born, children are actively seeking to make sense of the world: through their interactions with it and relationships they form in it.

    Anna is already using language for a multitude of purposes.

    She has an extensive vocabulary which includes:

    Names, for example, of

    • family members and friends
    • fruits and other foods
    • colours
    • animals
    • animal sounds
    • toys
    • dinosaurs (learnt from her big brother)
    • objects in the home and environment

    Action words (verbs) including eat, drink, play, read, watch, swim, jump, dance, clean

    Adjectives e.g. big and small

    Adverbs e.g. fast and slow

    Social graces for example greetings like hello and bye-bye, and manners like please and thank you

    She sometimes uses one word effectively to convey a complex meaning or thought, but more often now she is stringing together a number of words to form phrases and sentences. She is able to participate in conversations which require an exchange of information or an interchange of questions and answers.

    She uses:

    Questions with appropriate words and inflection to:

    • be informed e.g. Where’s Mummy?
    • request e.g. strawberry please Daddy? play trampoline Mummy?
    • interrogate e.g. why you eat pineapple Bob?

    Commands

    • more Beckii!
    • stop Bob!

    Statements e.g. I go sleep my home

    She understands the importance of facial expressions and body language that accompany these exchanges. She has learned the sway of accompanying a “please” with a smile and the power of an emphatic “No!”

    Although many of her sentences do not contain articles (a, the), prepositions or connectives, her meaning is easily understood in the context of the conversation.

    She knows the placement of adjectives before the noun e.g. “big ball”, not “ball big”.

    She pretends play, e.g. setting up a group of balls then instructing the adults to “shh”, because the eggs need quiet for hatching.

    She has learnt how to follow instructions and take turns in a game e.g. a game of memory turning over the cards to find the matching pairs.

    johnny_automatic_father_and_daughter_playingAnna understands far more than she is able to produce. She responds appropriately to the questions, commands and statements of her family, asking for more information and clarification if she needs it. She knows when the sounds are produced in play rather than for meaning e.g. “Billy-bobby-silly-Sally”, and responds with giggles rather than questions.

    She is familiar with the language of books and expects books to be a source of pleasure and language.

    party_pinguin__card_ocal

    She knows that songs and rhymes are not conversation and joins in rhythmically and tunefully. At her birthday party, she led the family in singing “Happy birthday” to herself, and did a marvellous job of conducting.

    All of these observations reveal but a sample of her actual language learning, glimpsed through the grandmother’s window, you could say, during weekend visits. The parents would be more able to describe in greater detail just how extensive the language development is.

    But is Anna’s ability with language remarkable?

    Yes, indeed it is. Just as the language learning of every other child is remarkable.

    In just two short years Anna, like most other children around the world, has learned the basis of her language. What conditions supported this enormous growth in language learning?

    johnny_automatic_playing_dress_up

    According to research, children are born with an innate ability to learn language. At first they have the potential to learn the sounds, words, grammar and use of any language, but as time goes on their ear is tuned to the language spoken around them, and by the age of one children have learned all the sounds of their native language. However, though this ability to learn language is innate, it doesn’t occur in a vacuum. It occurs in an environment rich in language, and the richer the environment, the stronger, the better the language growth.

    Anna is surrounded by a loving family who speak with her discussing the day’s events, explaining information, telling stories and playing imaginatively. They read to her many times a day, and play games that require thinking and talking. This exposure to language, both oral and written, is an important part of her life, every day.

    Conditions for language learning

    Anna’s environment clearly exhibits the conditions, described by Brian Cambourne, which encourage language learning:

    Immersion: Anna is surrounded by language. Her significant adults (parents and other carers e.g. aunt and uncle, grandparents) speak to her: interacting and playing with language. They read stories and sing songs to her. They hold conversations with each other about a wide range of topics. While not included in these conversations, Anna is quietly learning the nuances of adult discourse.

    Demonstration: Anna observes adults using language in many different situations and comes to understand the language of different contexts and purposes e.g. greeting friends, shopping, asking for help, giving information.

    Feedback: As soon as Anna started to make sounds of her own, her parents provided feedback by repeating the sounds she had made and by adding new ones for her to copy. When she started to say her first words, her parents responded with enthusiasm and encouragement.

    Approximation: Anna’s parents accept and respond to the message of her communication, without hint of it being incomplete or incorrect. Instead they support and elaborate, seeing it as part of the development towards language proficiency.

    Now that Anna is joining words into phrases and sentences, the adults respond, often with an agreement or explanation, by restating the sentence, and expanding on it, supplying the words not yet part of her vocabulary; demonstrating intuitively the target structures towards which Anna’s language is developing.

    The guidance offered by these responses is gentle and intuitive, giving both congratulations on the ability to communicate and reinforcing standard language usage. For example, when Anna says “Apple juice,” the parent may respond, “Would Anna like some apple juice? I will get some apple juice for Anna.”

    Expectation: Anna’s parents always expected that she would learn to talk and that her talk would develop through easily recognisable stages. They do not expect her to speak like a university professor at the age of two!

    They are also aware that not all children develop language at the same rate, and understand that if Anna wasn’t speaking in sentences at the age when another was, they would just continue to provide demonstration, feedback and support expecting that she would in her own time. While they know that seeking help early if concerned about a child’s language development in these early years is very important, they have no reason to be concerned about Anna’s language development.

    Responsibility: Anna’s parents recognise that the responsibility for her language learning rests with Anna. They provide the environment, they model language in use and provide her with feedback and support. They don’t attempt to formally teach her language structures which are not yet part of her developing language.

    Use: Anna uses language in real situations for real purposes: to get things done, to ask for help, to think and share.

    Don’t you agree it’s a pretty remarkable process?

    Children all over the world become proficient language users when they are immersed in rich language environments, often provided intuitively by parents who talk with and read to their children.

    Sadly, not all children have the benefit of an environment rich in language.

    If we could convince all parents of the importance of talking and reading with their children in these early learning years, we would have far fewer children with delayed learning abilities at school.

    Nor and Bec reading

    How do you think we can help parents of young children understand the difference it could make to the lives of their children, and themselves?

    Please share your ideas.

  • The teacher effect

    The teacher effect

    The celebration of World Teachers’ Day in Australia this Friday provides me with the perfect opportunity to acknowledge the powerful influence a teacher may have on the life of another.

    Like the butterfly effect, the ripples may travel far and unseen, with consequences that are sometimes intentional but sometimes not; often visible, but just as often not; and occasionally acknowledged, but frequently not.

    World Teachers’ Day was established by UNESCO in 1996 with 5th October claimed as the date of its celebration. A map of the world shows that not all participating countries observe that specific date each year, but usually do recognise a day in October. As 5th October falls during the school holidays for most Australian children, the last Friday of October is the date celebrated in Australia.

    According to UNESCO, the day was established to be “devoted to appreciating, assessing, and improving the educators of the world. The real point is to provide a time to look at and address issues pertaining to teachers. Strangely one of the most central, vital professionals to society does not receive the respect it deserves in some parts of the world.”

    a call for teachers

    The slogan for this year’s celebration is “A call for teachers”, highlighting the dire shortage of professionally trained teachers in so many places around the world, a situation which is not expected to show any improvement before 2030.

    While I often talk of the limitations I see in a traditional approach to education, I am very appreciative of the fact that, in Australia, every child has access to an education system with well-trained and educated professionals. It is certainly a privilege not shared by all around the world.

    So on World Teachers’ Day, let’s celebrate what we do have, and what we have learned from the many teachers who have touched our lives. The fact that you are reading this means that someone, somewhere supported you to learn to read. There may be a teacher who touched your life in a very special way. Are they still around? Have you let them know?

    If you have children at school, have you told their teachers how much you appreciate their efforts?

    Some people say “They are just doing their job, why should I thank them?”

    But let me assure you: there are very few teachers who just ‘do’ their job. The wonderful, innovative, creative and inspiring teachers live it! It is their purpose in life. They are devoted to improving the educational outcomes for their students. They work long hours, away from the classroom, reflecting on learning and how to improve it and make it engaging for students.

    www.openclipart.org
    http://www.openclipart.org

    Some children think teachers even sleep at school, that they have no life out of the classroom. I can hear the chuckling of the teachers who are reading this now, because it’s true! Well, not really, but sometimes it seems like it. They carry the children in their hearts, striving for ways to help each fulfill their dreams and ease their worries.

    However maintaining that dedication year after year with little acknowledgment or a sense of being valued can be difficult and disheartening; and many teachers burn out when there is little fuel to keep the flame alight. A small word of appreciation may be all it takes to keep their energy and motivation levels high.

    So join with me in acknowledging a teacher who has made a difference in your life . . . the teacher effect!

    I acknowledge two inspirational teachers:

    Dr Brian Cambourne and Peter Kidston

    Dr Brian Cambourne was Head of the Reading-Language Centre at Riverina CAE when I did literacy studies there a long time ago. (”CAE” gives a hint at how long ago!) He is still working in the field of literacy education at the University of Wollongong. It was an enormous privilege to learn from such an intuitive, innovative, inspirational and influential literacy educator. Not only am I indebted to him, but the ripple effect travels far and unseen, touching the lives of the students and teachers with whom I have since worked, and beyond. . . Thank you, Brian. Your power is immeasurable.

    Acceptance for study in the program under Brian’s tutelage came at a time when I was searching for answers about how children learn and how best to teach them. When I applied for a course about teaching literacy, I didn’t realise the impact it would have upon my developing philosophy of education and understanding of how children learn. I already had serious misgivings about the traditional approach I had been schooled in and the systems I was working for, but had nothing tangible to replace it with.

    Through developing an understanding of Brian’s “conditions for learning” I began to see how I could not only effectively support students with their learning, but could make that learning meaningful and enjoyable as well. I found that the conditions Brian espoused applied to all learning, not just literacy. The understanding from readings I had previously engaged with about educational alternatives e.g. books by John Holt, Ivan Illich, A.S. Neill and John Dewey, combined with my new understandings to help me formulate a strong and effective pedagogical practice. Armed with my new understandings and skills, I was ready to once again face the classroom.

    And that’s where Peter Kidston came in.

    Peter Kidston was the principal at one of the first schools to which I was assigned after completing my studies at Riverina CAE. Peter was an effective leader; strong but relaxed, firm but compassionate. He was respected and loved by staff, students and parents. He was actively involved in the community and worked tirelessly for the benefit of his students. If there were problems, he often solved them by . . . listening. I think he worked on the premise that, when a problem has a proper airing, the solution soon presents itself.

    My first step onto the school grounds told me that this school was going to be different. The students were friendly and welcoming, greeting me as I walked through the grounds. The staff too, were friendly and relaxed, and Peter was pleased to see me.

    One of the roles of a principal is that of educational leadership, and Peter was the best I have met. I firmly believe that the tone of a school is set by the principal; and the warmth and friendliness of the school I attribute to Peter’s leadership. Peter always let his teachers know how valued they were through feedback, encouragement and support. He led by showing, not telling.

    Peter encouraged the innovative strategies I was implementing in my classroom by providing support, respect and professional freedom. At the same time he ensured educational expectations were being addressed through questioning and conversations designed to encourage a wider and more in-depth reflection on my practice. He followed up with classroom visits to monitor the students’ participation and learning progress. The respect and value he placed upon my professionalism enabled me to stretch beyond my own expectations; at the same time developing effective, independent and self-directed learners who enjoyed the school experience as much as I did.

    Thank you, Peter. I am indebted to you. The ripple effect of my learning under your leadership goes far and unseen beyond those few classes at your school into unknown territories.

    happy world teachers day

    Which teacher will you thank today?

    If you would like to print out your own “The teacher effect” bookmarks for a teacher special to you, click here.

  • Why do I have to?

    19178-School-Building-Graphic

    School attendance during some years of their childhood is compulsory for most children around the world. In Australia schooling is compulsory for children between the ages of about five and fifteen. Most children accept this attendance without question and, in fact, many really enjoy it! A society in which schooling was not compulsory and children didn’t want to attend would be very different from that which we currently enjoy.  So while I have some misgivings about the type of schooling on offer, I guess I feel grateful that it is compulsory and that most children are happy to attend.

    Given that schooling is compulsory, I believe that a school must be a place where children wish to be; where they feel safe and comfortable, respected and valued; where their needs are met and imaginations excited; where they have some sense of purpose and control; and where they are challenged to be more than they ever thought they could.

    For some children, schooling does provide all these things and, as adults, they may look back on their school days with fondness. Others become disengaged, unable to see the purpose in endless tasks and expectations that appear to bear little connection to their lives either now or in the future, as they imagine it. Reigniting enthusiasm for learning once the first flush has faded is more difficult than maintaining it in the first place, which is often challenging enough.

    The study of philosophy in schools may help students understand the purposes of what they are learning, maintain their engagement with the curriculum and contribute to their excitement for learning and the desire to stay in school.

    I have always had a personal interest in philosophy and philosophical discourse, though I do not claim to have any great knowledge of particular philosophers and their thinking. The “Philosophy for Children” program developed by Dr Matthew Lipman, which has been implemented in many schools throughout the world, including Australia, favours a community of enquiry and democratic approach in which students are encouraged to think; critically, creatively and reflectively. They are also encouraged to think and talk about thinking. When I was first introduced to the approach in the mid-1990s, I was not surprised to find that development of the approach had been influenced by John Dewey’s ideals of progressive education. The program not only fitted with my philosophy of education perfectly, but expanded my thinking and gave more credence to what I believed. I was pleased to receive, through use of the program, guidance for implementing these important thinking skills in my early childhood classroom.

    Recently, on the recommendation of my friend and fellow philosophy-enthusiast, Glenn, I listened to a podcast “Philosophy in Education” available on the Philosophy Now website. In this podcast, three philosophers, Peter Worley, Dr Michael Hand and Dr Stephen Boulter, discussed the question “Should schools teach philosophy?” All three were unanimous, of course, and presented some very interesting and convincing arguments for the inclusion of philosophy in the curriculum.

    The discussion dealt with questions about values and basic morality, what one ought to do or should do, and the reasons why. It also raised the importance of “why” questions in maths and science e.g. “Why do we know that 2 + 2 = 4?”, or “How do we know that what we perceive in the natural sciences is reliable?”

    17925-Microscope-Graphic

    All three agreed that the importance of the basics in education can’t be denied, but Stephen contended that if we want to improve the basics of reading, writing and arithmetic, then we need to start with philosophy. He said that secondary school students are already asking philosophical questions about the material they are being taught in subjects like chemistry and history; questions like “Why do I have to learn this?” or “Why is this important?”  (I suggest that children are asking these same questions from a far younger age.)

    questions

    Stephen asserted that these questions about the curriculum are philosophical questions that must be answered if students’ engagement with the curriculum is to be maintained.

    This argument was the most compelling for me as it confirmed the importance of providing students with an understanding of the purposes for the learning they are required to undertake. Michael explained that while the basics are important in education, education is more than just that; it is for the “whole of life”. Stephen agreed, insisting that children need to know the reasons why adults force them to go through so many years of formal education. He said that although there were answers to these questions, they were infrequently given to students.

    Peter agreed that children need more than just the practical reasons, for example learning to count so that you can add up when you go to the shops. Stephen maintained that students would find it easier to engage and put effort in if they saw the point of the learning, including an understanding of what it is to be an educated person. Not only that, children need to know why they should believe all the information they are being presented with in school, not just because the teacher tells them so.

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    The arguments for including philosophical discussions in school, and I would suggest in all curriculum areas, are very convincing. Peter explains that philosophy is inescapable as it deals with concepts and the ability to reason and suggests that these underpin the basics. He questions whether, if the basics haven’t improved for a long time, it may be because no one is questioning what needs to be learned before these skills can be developed. Maybe philosophy and the development of reasoning and concepts is the answer.

    What do you think?

    How important is it for you to understand the reasons for what is expected of you?

    If a seemingly meaningless task is expected of you in your role, do you more willingly accept the requirement if the reason for it is explained?

    All clip art used in this post is copyright but used with permission of the eLearning brothers.

  • What did you do that for? Rewards and motivation

    ausines headphonesRecently, on the recommendation of my friend Rosie, I listened to a TED Talk by Michael Sandel “Why we shouldn’t trust markets with our civic life”.

    Rosie and I often suggest Talks to each other and then share thoughts and comments about them.

    This Talk, like most of those on TED, raises some very interesting, thought provoking and challenging ideas and issues. The issue of most importance to me in each of these Talks may not be the issue of most importance to Rosie, nor to any other listener. The understandings, beliefs and personal positions, (ideological, philosophical and ethical), that each person has will not only influence what they hear but how they interpret, organise and prioritise what they hear and what they take away from the Talk, whether intended by the speaker or not.

    In this Talk, Michael raises themoney bag issue of motivating students to learn, a challenge experienced in many schools.  He invited the audience to consider whether cash rewards should be used as incentives for students to perform well on tests or to read books.

    The reaction from the audience was mixed with fewer in favour of offering the rewards than against. When asked why cash incentives should not be used to encourage students to work harder or read more books, a participant stated that the students should be reading for intrinsic motivation, for an intrinsic desire to learn, and that a cash reward would take the intrinsic incentive away.

    studentbooksHowever: If a child is a reluctant reader or reads only when required, does that child have any intrinsic motivation for reading? If not with cash rewards, how can we inculcate an intrinsic motivation to read? What is or has happened in this child’s experience that an intrinsic motivation to read has already been killed? (I will offer some thoughts on these issues in a future post.)

    The argument for and against the use of rewards in schools, as well as homes, to encourage children to perform or behave in a particular way has waged for as long as I can remember and, I’m sure, even longer than that.

    stars

    Should children receive a sticker, a star or an award for that? Shouldn’t they just do what we want of them for the sheer joy of it / because it will do them good / because it’s the right thing to do? Shouldn’t they be intrinsically motivated and have no need of extrinsic rewards?

    It all sounds very good, doesn’t it? And maybe it works when a child is intrinsically motivated through a genuine interest, or maybe when children are happy to comply and perform expected tasks either through a need to please others or their own developing sense of how things should be.

    But what of the child who does not have this intrinsic motivation, no need to please or any ability to see a personal purpose in expected tasks or behaviours?

    One of the Talk participants suggested that results of offering a cash reward for reading books could be measured by a count of the books read while the reward was being offered, followed by a count of the books read after the payment ceased. Results of the experiment found that students, when offered cash rewards, read more books, but they also read shorter books.

    And why should we expect any more of children than we do of adults?

    tomas_arad_heart

    How many adults perform their work tasks for the sheer joy of it, powered by intrinsic motivation? Only the lucky few, I would guess, who are able to combine passion with employment, or who have sufficient resources to maintain the lifestyle they desire. Isn’t the extrinsic reward a major motivator for much of what we do? I dare say the performance of most adult workers would not measure highly after payment ceased!

    mystica_Coins_(Money)

    Okay. I know it’s not quite the same. The children are not in need of the cash rewards as they are supported by adults who receive cash rewards. Nevertheless, without that extrinsic reward, in most cases, that work would cease, regardless of whether the cash is actually required for survival or not.

    However I am always drawn back to an attempt at reconciling intrinsic motivation with compulsory schooling.

    tomas_arad_heartIntrinsic motivation is usually related to something of one’s own choice through interest, challenge or purpose. The motivation comes from within, not from the promise of any external reward.

    So how does this work for children in school?

    Not only is school attendance compulsory throughout most of their childhood years, children have few choices in school. They generally attend a school chosen by someone else, are taught by a teacher allocated by someone else, and expected to make friends with a group (class) allocated by someone else.

    teacherbellThey line up, eat, talk, play and toilet on the ring of a bell and are expected to perform academic feats on command. When they progress from one year to the next, they often suffer the disruption of new class group arrangements, decided by somebody else for questionable reasons. What would be so harmful about a child going through all the years of schooling with the same group of friends?

    Why then do we think that students should be intrinsically motivated to do something about which and in which they have very little choice and are most often powerless?

    Learning for the love of it, for the sheer fun and joy of it is a marvellous goal. And I believe children are innately intrinsically motivated to learn.

    How different would schools be if we began with the intrinsic motivation of each child and wrapped the leaning around that? How much more powerful would the learning be? What would that school look like?

    Is that what we call a child-centred approach? An approach that values the interests and needs of each learner. An approach that starts where the child is and supports them to find the paths that take them where they want to be. An approach that values their individual styles and timeframes while providing just the right amount of challenge to stretch them beyond where they thought they were able to go. That piques their interest in a vast array of topics and supports their learning of skills to achieve their desires.

    But often the lip service given to a child-centred approach in a traditional school, with all its constraints, still smacks of ‘You’ll do what I say but you’ll think that you have a choice’.

    What slap in the face it is to tell someone that they must do this, when to do it and how to do it; and then tell them they must do it because they want to do it!

    However there are teachers who passionately believe in a child-centred approach and in harnessing the power of intrinsic motivation. They work tirelessly and creatively, powered by their own intrinsic motivation, to employ a vast array of strategies designed to make a child’s opportunities for learning within the confines of an imposed curriculum of a traditional school motivating for each learner while targeting their individual needs.

    SnarkHunter_Arrow_in_the_gold

    Here are some strategies that teachers use in a child-centred approach:

    • Make connections with the children’s lives

    –          discussing their experiences

    –          valuing their contributions

    –          involving parents

    –          informing parents of classroom learning and experiences

    • Incorporate children’s interests

    –          using negotiated topics and tasks

    –          employing a variety of activities

    • Offer children some autonomy

    –          using negotiated topics and tasks

    –          employing a variety of activities

    –          providing opportunities for independent and self-directed learning

    • Make learning fun, meaningful and explicit

    –          using games, songs and hands-on participatory activity

    –          explaining how classroom learning connects to purposes in life

    –          providing clear and easy-to-follow procedures

    –          providing opportunities for finding solutions to real problems

    –          allowing explorations in creativity and innovation

    • Provide opportunities for cooperation and collaboration

    –          working with a partner or in groups

    –          allowing opportunities for discussion

    • Support and extend learning

    –          harnessing  spontaneous opportunities for optimising learning

    –          providing opportunities for practice and clarification

    –          challenging learners to stretch their imaginations and abilities

    • Add joy and laughter through happiness and humour every day

    These strategies may not tap into the intrinsic motivation of each student all of the time. However a supportive environment in which children are provided some choice of activities, opportunities to learn at a pace suited to their needs, and an understanding of the point of it all, will provide learners with the desire and skills to harness their intrinsic motivation for learning of their own choosing beyond the classroom.

    What do you think?

  • “I love the mountains”

    More than 30 years ago I had the extreme good fortune of being at Brown bear brown beara literacy teachers’ conference at which Bill Martin Jr. (author of “Brown Bear, Brown Bear”) was speaking. What a memorable occasion it was.

    At the moment I can recall no other speakers, but I have never forgotten the captivatingly melodic and sonorous voice of Bill and the power of his message.

    Bill inspired his audience as he spoke about coming to reading later than most, at about the age of twenty, by teaching himself to read through his love of poetry. He attributed this love to being read to daily as a child. His delight in and playfulness with language was obvious as his voice danced through his stories, poems and songs to the accompaniment of his rich lilting laughter.

    He demonstrated, through audience participation, the joy of learning through song and the importance of the sounds and rhythms of language. Having fun and playing with language provides much joy for adults and children alike.

    In the days of overhead projectors, long before the now familiar electronic slideshows, Bill displayed a simple song “I love the mountains” on the screen. In an instant he had the audience rollicking in their seats, singing along with the words on the screen, and following the rhythmic lead of his voice without any other accompaniment. The energy created by this spontaneous engagement of the audience was electrifying. How could anyone not wish to participate? I quickly noted the words and tried desperately to commit the tune to memory. (I have since found out that this is a traditional camping song but, since I am not a camper, it was unfamiliar to me at the time though it may have been known by other members of the audience.)

    image courtesy of openclipart.org
    image courtesy of openclipart.org

    Every year since then, I have shared that song with my children.

    At the beginning of year one, in their 2nd or 3rd week of school, long before many of them could read or write very much at all, I would write the words on a chart and have them singing along, sharing through me, Bill Martin’s joy of song and language.

    One title in the "Sounds of Language" series
    One title in the “Sounds of Language” series

    Then, as soon as they were masters of the tune, we would engage in another of Bill’s suggested activities, “transforming sentences”. As Bill recommended, they were “taking an author’s structure and hanging their own thoughts on it.” (Sounds of Language, 1972)

    We changed Bill’s choice of “loves” for our own, and wrote our own collective song, which we sang repeatedly and with great gusto. Although the original did include a rhyme, we didn’t concern ourselves with that at this stage. We just concentrated on sharing our loves in a song such as this one:

    I love chocolate

    While they were having fun with language, the children were also learning a subtle and unstated lesson about how powerful a tool for communication self-expression through language, both oral and written, could be.

    The children’s suggestions for things they loved were many more than the lines of one collective song would allow, so there was nothing else to do but write one of their own. Which they did. They had already seen how easy it was. They knew the rhythm.  They had the basic sentence structure. All they had to do was substitute their own thoughts and make the song their own.

    How wonderful it was to hear the children singing their own lyrics as they wrote them, ensuring that the words telling of their loves fitted the rhythm of the song. The children delighted in sharing their songs with each other and with anyone else who would listen. At the end of the day they took them home to share with their parents as a special gift of themselves for Valentine’s Day.

    While my children did not have the benefit of Bill’s magical voice, or even a tuneful model from me, they delighted in his song. You can share a version (without Bill’s voice, or mine) by clicking here.

    Why not create your own songs, and support your children to create theirs, using this song model. You’ve seen how easy and joyful it can be. A song to sing about things you love is a little “happiness pill” that can be taken daily with no known side effects.

    I invite you to share your own versions here for us all to enjoy.

    Bill Martin Jr. wrote in Sounds of Language (1972):

    “As children gain skill in using their ears to guide their eyes in reading, they have a qualitatively different reading experience. Consider the young child who has frequently heard his teacher read “Ten Little Indians.” Once a child has these sounds clearly and solidly in his ear, he has little difficulty reading this old rhyme in its printed form. Once his ears begin telling him what his eyes are seeing, he approaches the reading with confidence and expectation. And when he comes to his teacher and exultingly declares,

    I know that word, Miss Barber! That word is “little!”

    she has evidence that he is relating sight and sound in reading.”

    What a joy and honour it is, as an early childhood teacher (including parent) to share a child’s journey into independent and joyful reading and writing.

    Nor and Bec readingwriting

    Robert 2

    It was a sad day when Bill Martin Jr. passed away on August 11, 2004, but his legacy lives on in the hearts of many readers, both young and old, whose lives have been touched by his love of language, and who may have indeed stepped across the threshold into reading through one of his many wonderful books.

    Click on the title to listen to Bill singing another fabulous song “I am Freedom’s Child” and his message for democracy: what another great song to start each day!

    I will have more about Bill Martin Jr. and his legacy in future posts.

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  • What you don’t know . . .

    One of my favourite quotes is that of Manuel in the BBC television series Fawlty Towers: “I know nothing.” I love quoting this but, just like Manuel, I too am learning. And what a wonderful gift it is to be able to learn.

    Recently I read a post This time it’s personal by Tony Burkinshaw on his blog.

    He explained unconscious incompetence in the following way: “A total ignorance of just how much you don’t yet know for the simple reason that you don’t yet know enough to recognise that you don’t yet know what you don’t yet know.”

    This got me thinking about knowledge and learning and about some of the subtle ways in which our attitude to knowledge and learning is manipulated.

    When I was a teenager, my brother wrote for me in my autograph book: “What you don’t know won’t do you any good either.”

    My father was not impressed and stated quite emphatically, “What you don’t know won’t do you any harm.”

    I think he subscribed to the same philosophy as many of my teachers: “Ignorance is bliss.”

    I mentioned in my article To school or not to school, a belief that the natural curiosity and eagerness to learn I’d had as a young child had been somewhat diminished during childhood by the attitudes of others around me. That’s not to say that they didn’t want me to do well in school, for they did, and always encouraged me and supported me to do my best; but it was my best at what the teachers told me to do and what the teachers told me to learn.

    Ready for school - year 2
    Ready for school – year 2

    Knowledge is power; and one of the easiest ways to suppress and maintain power over others is to keep them ignorant.

    While I am certain that my own willingness to be manipulated and need for acceptance also contributed, an encouragement of curiosity and active inquiry would have had the opposite and more positive effect. I am sure there are others who may not have bent so willingly under pressure and whose natural love of learning flourished despite it or even in response to it. But I know there are many more who bent and failed to rebound and are now trapped by their “unconscious incompetence” in an unassailable comfort zone; not knowing what they don’t know, for “Ignorance is bliss”.

    I am one of the lucky ones for, while I know a lot about some things, I know that there are things that I don’t know, and lots of them! Rather than make me a conscious incompetent, it makes me a willing learner, and passionate about ensuring the flames of curiosity and love of learning are maintained in others.

    Throughout their childhoods, I encouraged my children to question everything, including me, for I wanted them to arrive at their own understandings and did not want their thinking to be restricted the way mine had been.

    For many of you, a love of learning and an ability to acquire knowledge may have been a constant throughout your life. I ask then, that you do not dismiss those who don’t have the advantage of your information and your education. Many do not know what they do not know and they can’t even begin to imagine the questions they could start asking to ignite their learning. If they have had their natural curiosity suppressed and their wills broken, been convinced that submission and conformity were the way to being “good”, and willingly entered the cage and threw away the key; instead of judgment, derision and laughter, what they need is to be shown the open doorway … shown what they don’t know so they too, can start asking questions and filling in the gaps in their knowledge to regain power over their own lives.

    The saying “A little knowledge is a dangerous thing” is very true.

    How many times have you heard someone bemoan, “I wish I knew then what I know now”?

    What can you do to encourage a love of learning or pique someone’s interest today?

    How has your attitude to learning been influenced by the attitudes of others?

  • Enhance learning potential – talk and read daily

    Reports in the media this week asserted that parents are not making the time to read to their children on a regular basis. They also stated that children are beginning school unable to talk.

    So what’s new and why does it matter?

    Beckii readingSimilar allegations have been made for decades and it is saddening to see that the situation persists despite the increased volume of good quality children’s books being readily available at affordable prices and the torrent of information available in easily accessible media, including information about the importance of talking with and reading to children.

    Children who start school with a love of reading and learning have an enormous advantage over those who don’t.

    Robert 2Teachers of children in their first years of schooling are easily able to identify the children who have been talked with and read to in their before school years. These children display a broader general knowledge, a larger vocabulary and fluency with language, a comfortable familiarity with books and an expectation of enjoyment with learning.

    Children whose before school years have been bereft of meaningful conversations with adults and lacking in regular and frequent incursions into books, generally present with limited general knowledge, restricted vocabulary, little expectation that books will provide joy and diminished interest in or incentive for learning.

    Why then are parents not making the time to talk with and read to their children?

    Busy schedules and work commitments make it seem as if there is just not enough time to fit in talking and reading to children every day. But how much time does it take to do that?

    Simple changes in routine can open up new avenues for communication without requiring an extra commitment of time.

    reading Spot

    Here are just two suggestions for easily adding a talk and a book to the daily schedule without requiring any more time.

    Sit a child on a stool beside you and chat about the day’s events while preparing the evening meal.

    Beckii on stoolThis simple activity requires no further expenditure of time but greatly enhances the child’s communication skills and the parent-child relationship as well. Vocabulary is extended to include words that name and describe foods and the actions that are used in the preparation. Enlisting their help further boosts their sense of self and independence and may encourage a greater willingness to try a wider variety of foods.

    The promise of a story at bedtime can help to make the transition from a busy day to a restful night easier and more enjoyable.

    Reading magicA short time is all it takes to share the joy of a story.  In her book Reading Magic Mem Fox recommends 10 minutes of reading to children every day. Ten minutes of story time gives far more pleasure to both child and parent than ten minutes fraught with coaxing and struggling. Snuggling up in bed for a special quiet story time with a parent eases the child into relaxation and a slowing down in preparation for sleep.

    In addition to strengthening the child-parent bond, a love of books and an enjoyment of language and story is being nurtured; a love that can be maintained throughout one’s life.

    Nor and Bec reading

    How do you fit talking and reading into your busy schedule?