Years ago, after a school assembly that featured jugglers, one of the other elementary teachers in my building capitalized on her students’ immediate enthusiasm and decided to teach them to juggle. I don’t believe she actually juggled herself at the time, but she thought it might be fun to challenge everyone in her class to learn this skill.
They started with one lightweight scarf, which, when slung high into the air, drifted just slowly enough to snag it with the other hand before it fell to the ground. A great exercise in basic hand-eye coordination.
The students progressed to “juggling” several scarves, and when they were successful at this level, they were instructed in making their own beanbags, stitching rice or beans inside small, cloth-covered pouches.
When you dissect this activity, which spanned a little time each day for several weeks, you quickly realize there was a virtual truckload of valuable life-lessons going on here, none of which appeared on any standardized test.
The kids worked extra hard during their regular subjects to “earn the privilege” of working on their beanbags. They worked together, helping each other, cooperating, complimenting, and celebrating each others’ successes at each step.
And that, ladies and gentlemen of the jury, is what education is supposed to be all about. Kudos to those teachers who continue to color outside the lines, despite administrative pressure to “teach to the test” to achieve a tangible increase in yearly test scores.
Yep, I’m up on my soapbox today.
When a young high school graduate applies for a job, the potential employer will not be asking what he/she scored on any test in elementary school—the employer will be looking for the candidate who can juggle a variety of tasks and situations.
See how well I brought the theme full circle? Yeah… You’re right… I didn’t learn to do that on any “fill in the bubble” test. Thanks, Mrs. Mac. I owe you!