Michele sent this from The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery, pp 156-160: A thirteen-year-old girl is relating her day in French class. “What’s the point of grammar?” asked Achille . . . “You ought to know by know,” replied Madame Never-mind-that-I-am-paid-to-teach-you. .. ”The point is to make us speak and write well.” I […]
Tolstoy had that quote about how his school days were filled with endless mindless tasks and drudgery. I wish I could find that quote. But, when we genuinely like our kids, the sense of play is there and, with it, the foundation for real learning. The following email from Michele in Alaska illustrates the joy that kids
Michel has a pretty thought provoking blog entry about some basic premises in elementary TPRS: http://mmbaker1.wordpress.com/ Click on the blog for Feb. 7 although I really like what she wrote on Feb. 11 also about TPRS in general.
Robert has figured out something that has been bugging anyone who has tried to reference a url in a comment hon this blog, and we are glad for this information: Hi Ben, I just posted under “TPRS Blogs”, and it’s awaiting moderation. I think I’ve figured out why and how to avoid it in the future. If
I wrote the following yesterday as a comment to something Mike said, but want to make it a blog here so I can reference it later to see how true it is. For yesterday’s classes, not using English at all was a great shot in the arm, and perhaps a sleeper, not just for me, but
Apparently K. just got her first teaching job at the age of 15: I have more exciting news. I got an e-mail from another IB French teacher. She teaches 10th and 12th grade, and my teacher teaches 9th and 11th . She’s the one who has been watching our stories a lot lately and said
Chill sent me this yesterday: Ben: I recently caught up with a friend who was my mentor teacher when I student taught about 17 years ago. I shared my TPRS story and sent her to your blog. She was a totally dedicated professional and has been a dear friend. She still keeps up with AATF, etc.
Ben, It seems as if we always need ammunition to defend TPRS to the next group of skeptical parents, colleagues and administrators. The book Story Proof: The Science behind the Startling Power of Stories, by Kendall Haven is filled with information, ideas and ample ammunition for us storytellers. We know by experience and by our
Story Proof: The Science behind the Startling Power of Stories Read More »
The lunch crowd at K’s school has been meeting regularly. Here is an update: Hey, Mr. Slavic, My reading lesson went great – my teacher wants to do reading like that from now on! It’s catching on – and she said that we could do a few stories on Fridays. I think this is because –
TPRS can function in unique ways once the kids have been trained in playing the game. I got this from Beth Crosby in Maine today. The story here is unique to TPRS – it wouldn’t have happened in any other kind of classroom. Hi Ben! I just thought I’d share an encouraging story. First, a
Diana Noonan is spearheading a three year program in our district to get some hard data on TPRS programs through three years. This would involve articulated TPRS-only programs from middle to high school in Denver Public Schools in which TPRS is the sole instructional approach in the classrooms used. District TPRS teachers who want to be
While watching film of one of my classes I saw a still shot of an actor. The concentration on her face (we were saying that she wanted to drink a glass of water) was intense. She was holding a make believe cup in her hand and focusing completely on my words (rule #6). Many actors
