Today in my 3rd grade class I experienced the most intense frustration I have all year. We are beginning to teach how to be an excellent writer. Today we focused on our ideas. First, I put a drawn picture of a cat with one paw on top of a ball on the overhead projector. We looked at the picture and came up with questions we would want answered after looking at the picture. Some questions we came up with were:
Who is this cat?
What is it doing?
Why is it doing this?
Where did this happen?
When did this happen?
Whose cat is this?
Why does the cat have a ball?
Where did the ball come from?
You get the idea! We came up with about 15 questions. I then asked them to go to their seats and come up with answers to these questions...keeping in mind to be CREATIVE, use IMAGINATION, and give DETAILS!!!
As soon as they got to their desks, the hands went up. "What are we supposed to do?" "Do I just think of a name for the cat?" "Is this a real story, or do I just make it up?" OH MY GOODNESS!!!!! Frustration overwhelmed me!!
After not so calmly drawing everyone's attention to myself, I once again explained that they each had to come up with a story about this cat. There is not a right or wrong answer and they needed to use their imaginations. Heck...I don't care if this cat lives on the moon and the ball isn't a ball at all, but a moon rock he is taking home as a souveneir.
Why is it that the children today don't have imaginations. Of course, the first response I would give is the amount of time they are glued to the television, or the amount of time they spend playing video games. When I was in 3rd grade, I rode my bike, played outside, created detailed stories with my Barbies, and played countless pretend games with my sisters (and by myself!!) These kids just don't experience these things.
However, as I thought more about it, I don't know that this is the only cause of the lost imagination syndrome. I truly believe that these kids live in a state of fear. Not so much a fear of me (but they might be more fearful of me after this episode today), but a fear of being criticized for their ideas by peers, siblings, parents, and even teachers. It seems that they are so afraid of being creative and being criticized, that they would rather give "safe" answers than use any imagination at all. It is really very sad!
As I walked around the room and looked at their answers, there were many cats at parks, in back yards, etc. I would have loved to see some cats on the moon...in the ocean...in an airplane...places you wouldn't expect to see a cat. I would love to hear a creative story about this cat and his ball...not just that he was playing with a ball of string.
Where would your cat be? What would he be doing?
Here's hoping to finding some lost imaginations!
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7 comments:
Dude, you know where MY cat would be in the story, seeing that I love them so much. :) In a gutter somewhere probably... ha ha.
But, seriously, that was SUCH a great post!! I totally agree that creativity is stifled so much...alot of them don't even KNOW how to think imaginatively and it is so different than when we were kids. I'm the first to admit that I need to be better about it with my own kids (my own and my school kids too).
And, this also goes back to our TAKS conversation weeks ago....it has taken over their school days, when it used to be about developing your WHOLE mind. There usually IS a right and wrong answer "nowadays", and they are already trained at an early age to only give the RIGHT answer. Anyway, that's another topic for another day.
Love you! These kiddos are so blessed to have you for a teacher. :)
This cats name is Ferris. (Remember the kitten James got me senior year?) Anyway, his name is Ferris. He was rescued from being tortured by a little girl named Kaitlyn. This is his favorite ball that he stole from Kaitlyn before being rescued from her. He is currently on planet Silvia (my cars name -random), being trained on how to be nice and share toys.
He is planning his return to Kaitlyn's house once he learns how to share toys and be nice. He is also learning how to use a Swifter, so that he can clean up his own hair that sheds all over the wood floors. Hopefully, someday soon - he and Kaitlyn can play catch with this ball together soon.
Chels...of course your cat would be in a gutter...probably after you KICKED it there!! Don't worry...Callie has forgiven you for all the times your foot met her back end!
Leslie...that is hilarious! I would definitely teach my cat to use the Swifter and to scoop its own stinkin' litter!
The first thing I thought of was a cat in a circus...you know...like he balanced on the ball as his act...weird, I know. It's very elaborate in my head...like most things:)
I also agree that this was a great post! Kids these days! No respect for adults and no imagination! It is amazing to me as well.
In Extended Care one day I let the kids come up with ANYTHING they wanted to be the sign to be quiet and listen. I emphasized ANYTHING they wanted...and all I got was the same thing each of their teachers do to get their attention...except the one girl that said we should play Heads Up 7 Up...but I think she misunderstood the question:)
Let's make it our mission to teach our little chillins creativity!!
My cat would be in the gutter along with your sister's cat! I am not a big cat person, but I could write a fabulous story about a dog! : )
I have already decided that Jackson's TV time is going to be severely limited. I want him to be creative and to play outside and to play sports instead of being glued to a TV or a video game. I think of it as my responsibility to encourage Jackson to develop a wild imagination and to be a creative little guy. Great post!
Also, regarding your previous post, Braden is so cute! He and Jackson wear the same size clothes already! Craziness.
My cat would have been run over by my car.
I totally agree with you on creativity. It is so rare to find a teenager who can dream anymore. I really liked your post.
Hey, I thought of you yesterday because Carley intentionally was playing with the purple elephant that hangs from her activity gym. I remember a month ago you said that Braden was doing that. They are a month apart so I like it when you post what he does so I know what to look forward to the next month. Any advice for month 4?
I think I am just like the kids in your class. My imagination is seriously stifled because I am forever hoping to get the "right" answer, rather than being creative. I should probably do more imagination exercises like this one to try to wake that part of my brain up--I don't think it's been used for at least twenty years!
So, here goes. The cat's name is Ego, and the little "paw on top of the ball" stance is just a fake pose while he is trying to look innocent. He's hoping that you will be distracted by his cuteness so you won't notice the vase of flowers that he knocked over in the next room. He doesn't even like the ball. He's just thinking "look cute, look cute...she'll never be the wiser." Once you've left the room he'll leave the ball and go back to eating the flowers he knocked over, which he'll probably throw up on the carpet later, for you to clean up. :-)
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