Lets get creative!

Wow I just went to the Beyond School Blog and was amazed to scroll down and see a ‘youtube’ link to The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson. I was lucky enough to see a taping of Craig’s show in December last year. I was in L.A standing on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and a gentleman gave us free tickets to go to the tapping. I was concerned because I had never heard of him, so we asked a few locals and they were like ‘he is okay’! Sooooo we went along. We waited 2 hours to see him, hesitant if we would even get in the studio (its tiny). We made the cut off by two people and in we went. We were unsure what we were going to see, thinking maybe he was like Rove or David Letterman, we waited with anticipation… Well this guy was hilarious!

I guess what this Blog is trying to say is, the youth (not only in America, but in Australia) as so consumed with ‘stuff’. They want it all, the fancy clothes, the flash mobile phones, the top shelf sneakers. They aren’t concerned with their education; they are concerned with their image and reputation. I think if someone like Craig (who is well know in USA) can help the youth understand that education is important, that we all grow up and can no longer rely on ‘we didn’t know better’ then it may help to emphasise the importance of learning. However, we as teachers should recognise what these children are reacting to and how powerful advertising is and bottle it and use it as a mechanism to enhance learning in our classrooms.

If the youth are reacting to television shows, use this form of media to teach them. Use shows that have morals and lessons to teach them about the world (ie. Civics or SOSE). If they are spending their spare time on the Internet, get them to use social networking sites (appropriately, such as blogs) to express their feelings about learning and use it as a learning tool. Set up times to go on the Internet and have conferences and group discussions.

I think that teaching in the 21st century isn’t a profession it is an art. We as Learning Managers need to master the ‘art’ of education. We need to find new and innovative ways to interact with our students and encourage them to perform. I believe if students do not know they are learning, they will be happy to learn, we just need to be creative about how we go about it.

Below is the Craig Ferguson clip I am referring to for anyone that has not seen it.