Holding their Attention

Holding Attention through Challenges

"Education either functions as an instrument that is used to facilitate the integration of the younger generation into the logic of the present system and bring about conformity to it, or it becomes 'the practice of freedom,' the means by which men and women deal critically and creatively with reality and discover how to participate in the transformation of their world".

Before all else, the teacher must engage the students by instilling in them the confidence to be in front of their classmates challenging the current system. I believe if I had done this the last two times I had multiple classes of 6th graders together I would not have seen so much resistance. With the kids up in front of the class, I can push them to imagine a 'better' food system and the ways in which it would change the way their community looks and eats. Of course, in order to do this we have to develop an idea of what the current food system looks like (would be especially powerful if I had information about the food providers in their community). Juxtaposing the ideal with the reality and having the students leading the imagining and reconstruction reinforces the ideal educational format of students creatively and critically dealing with their food reality. As a matter of fact, using Google earth I might be able to show the kids the makeup of their community and challenge them to redesign their community so that it looks more "ideal" or exactly the same. I would love to hear a student defend the style and design of their community. A possible game could be to make teams and give them the role of either redesigning or defending the current makeup of their community. I feel a great class session coming on...

Attention everyone!!!
When teachers are faced with an audience not totally attentive to the lesson, they are faced with a difficult question: how to pull the students back to the lesson. This process is very difficult because redirecting the attention of a group of students can be difficult considering the potential resistance they might show. In order to circumvent their resistance, the teacher must invite a few students, preferably one of which would be the 'ring leader' of the resistance, to the front of the class to participate in the next activity. With these students at the front of the class, the classmates will feel much less interested in resisting and the ring leader will have an opportunity to help lead a different, less resistant, activity. If this activity is facilitated well, you will see a drastic difference in the investment of the class and the engagement of those students previously resisting.

With Students Like These Who Needs Enemies
The last thing a teacher wants to do is write their students off as completely antagonistic. Instead, constantly strategizing as though the students were assets, looking for ways in which you can work their talents into the activities, the teachers will find a much more interested and responsive group.