JOURNEY TO THE ACROPOLIS

Recently I heard of a little girl who tries to hard in her school to do the assigned tasks well, to please the teacher – to do EVERYTHING RIGHT. Yet, for the third or forth time, the awards at the assembly went to others.

When the assembly was over, her teacher said, “Now I don’t want to see any tears.”

So she didn’t. The little girl went into the bathroom to weep tears of let down and grief, and a sense of betrayal.

This makes me want to cry too. Sadly, our society deems competition for these awards necessary to motivate groups of children. A relatively small number wins. The majority feels less than, inadequate.

There are other ways to motivate that are more effective, kinder and include EVERYONE in the rewards. And by rewards I don’t mean extrinsic rewards like certificates, trinkets and being singled out for public recognition, etc. Such rewards are for training animals, not for reaching the hearts and minds of human children.

Children have great dignity, self-discipline and intrinsic (inner) motivation when they are treated as if they have such capacity. 

There are many more effective, kinder ways to motivate individuals and groups. The following is an example of one way.

At the Living Ethics School we blend fact and fiction in stories, the way indigenous peoples teach their children. This is to heighten the children’s interest in learning various topics. Our recent unit entitled Journey to the Acropolis pivoted on a 10 lesson teaching story that lasted 5 wks. The carefully researched stories interwove facts of Ancient Greece, accounts of famous historical characters, and Greek Mythology. The children painted while listening to the lessons to foster open, receptive brains, while creatively engaged.

At no point was the goal a quiz, a test, a grade, and/or awards for the best whatevers. Our main goal is to support a life long love of learning through joy in learning.

The children really liked the inclusion of the mythology. Before the lessons had even finished they were suggesting plays and clamoring for the parts they wanted to perform.

They helped the teacher brainstorm and begin rough drafts for the plays. Then the teacher fine tuned them. (Initiative, recall, planning, collaboration.) 

The plays performed by the various ages in elementary and upper elementary included:  

The Naming of Athens (Zeus had to choose between naming the new city after Posiedon or Athena).

The Minotaur (The brave Theseus, with the help of Princess Ariadne, found his way through the labyrinth to face down and kill the dreaded Minotaur.)

Helen And the Trojan War

Jason and the Argonauts

The Journeys of Odysseus

Sometimes two or more people wanted the same part. The teacher deftly stayed out of this, so the group assigned student judges to choose. The judges agreed to judge based on acting ability rather than personal friendship or popularity. (Ethics, self-government)

Practicing the plays required lots of reading, memorization and tiresome repetition. Some young first timers didn’t make it all the way through. They needed to see the performances at Presentation Night to be more motivated to persevere next opportunity.  (The pay off for perseverance – the performance.)

The prefrontal lobes were firing, the creative juices flowing, opportunities for cooperation numerous, as the children designed backdrops, costumes and props. (Their eyes were bright, their behavior focused and self-disciplined as they worked together.)

The performance, being akin to their own pretend play, was a source of enjoyment and interior reward for the narrators, set designers and cast. (Joy)

The attentiveness and appreciative applause of the audience was a way to include ALL in the many rewards of this process. (Attentiveness, support, and appreciation – great motivators from parents and teachers.)

No tests. No grades. No award assemblies. No woeful tears due to being overlooked. Just children engaged in self-challenges they naturally take on. The secret is to treat them with respect for the high potentials that reside in the heart of each child, eager and ready for expression.

JOY IS A SPECIAL WISDOM.