My Students Didn't Learn Today

Okay, so my students learned today, they just didn't learn traditional standards-based content and yes, it was awesome.

It was Culture Shock day today in class. Culture Shocks are a day to immerse students in some of the unique aspects of a society. Sometimes content sneaks in but mostly it is just background knowledge at best. Honestly, I do it because it is fun. Today was definitely a for fun experience.

We started with the most content heavy piece (which isn't saying much as you will see) where students analyzed a painting of the story of Siddhartha Gautama sitting under the bodhi tree at the founding of Buddhism. I covered the painting in 4 panels and students described each quadrant one by one. This causes kids to really focus in on details throughout the painting. It's a great image. There are strange looking demons and plenty of small details that really push kids to analyze carefully. It opened the door for me to tell the story which they ate up. When we do our reading about it later in the week I have no doubt they'll read with intent and interest. This part of the story isn't really in our state standards for my grade but who cares? Awesome story and a great hook to explain the next parts of the story.

Then we stopped learning entirely.

For the next Shock we did a chopstick challenge. I purchased a bunch of chopsticks on Amazon and made bowls filled with Skittles (rice) and Sour Punch Straws (noodles). I had six desks in front of the room. Students took turns trying to get the candy from the bowl into a Dixie cup. It is hilarious and fun. Most of my kids have never touched chopsticks and even those that have struggle with the slippery Skittles. They don't care. They can't wait to get their turn at the front. Invariably kids in the back inch forward so they can watch their classmates struggle. It ends up being a great growth mindset lesson. Most kids take the seat saying "I can't do this!" and end up doing just fine. They figure out a way, typically not the "proper" way mind you, to get that candy into the bucket.

Perhaps not surprisingly, in four years of doing this lab I've never had a kid not participate. Today, my roughest class did a great job. I warned them at the beginning of class that any disruption would lead to me skipping the activity because I was already tired. They kept shushing each other whenever one got a little close to the line. They couldn't wait to participate and when they did they dove right in.

But of course, they didn't learn anything right?

For the final activity I pass out sets of Tangrams. As I'm passing them out I tell the legend of Tan dropping his magic tile on the way to visit the king and how it broke into 7 perfect pieces. They must first remake the tile. As they are doing so and making all sorts of things I continue the legend explaining that Tan created all sorts of things from rabbits to swords but never could quite get the square tile back together. If no student has solved it by the then I start giving hints by drawing the square on the board and filling in some of the lines. Usually with a little help someone will figure it out. I then have a few more puzzles I project on the screen that we race to complete. I finish the class, time permitting, by putting up a bunch of puzzle options and letting the students do whichever they want. Most can't wait to try as many as possible.

But again, no standards, so no learning. What a shame.

No, not at all.

The real shame is that we feel we have to justify every single lesson with a standard. I guarantee that my students who didn't learn anything today will learn much more as we continue our China unit than they would have otherwise. They care now. They have a deeper interest in Chinese culture and their brain now associates "China" with "fun." Even if they didn't, is it so wrong to just do something fun in class? It shouldn't be, but I know it is. I feel guilty every time I do something like this now. I hate that. I teach kids. Kids need some time to be kids.

Trying having them not learn anything for a day and see how awesome it is!