Comments on: Symptoms Not the Cure

By: Kim

Kim — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 00:08:12 +0000

Great post. I think that more teachers need to incorporate movement into their curriculums. I was the slightly hyper student in my classes and always asked to go to the bathroom or get something from my locker. it wasn’t that I didn’t care about learning, as I loved school, I just couldn’t sit for that long and would get easily distracted if I did. I wish that more teachers would take a more interactive approach to learning.

By: Pat

Pat — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 22:13:48 +0000

I had a token economy in my high school special ed class. They were paid a daily salary (balance kept on accounting sheet at the end of each class). When doing their seatwork they can buy “break time” which entitles them to 3 min. of getting a drink, going to the bathroom, or just walking outside the classroom but not disrupting any other class. Many students loved accumulating the money and didn’t buy this time unless truly needed.

By: mary ann

mary ann — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 19:51:44 +0000

The stillness of classes has bugged me for a long time. One of my favorite strategies is “four corners.” During a lesson, I’ll build in questions where students will express their answers by moving to one of the four corners of the room. I especially like to use it for grading multiple choice tests, as it gives me an immediate feedback on which questions the students really struggled with and I don’t have to go through all of the tests.

By: Mike

Mike — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 21:31:10 +0000

I think that even in “desk jockey” jobs, people get up and walk around quite a bit. In the real world, we are always getting up to visit other co-workers’ offices, make copies, file things – even just to stroll around in a circle to get the blood flowing again. Why should schools be any different if we expect them to prepare students for the “real world?”

By: Mathew

Mathew — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 02:16:03 +0000

Thanks Elona and Kimberly for recognizing students as humans who have the same needs we do as adults. So many teachers seem to miss this.

By: Kimberly

Kimberly — Sat, 07 Jun 2008 18:00:46 +0000

I’ve often set up my room so that my “wanders” could move around during independent work time without disturbing others. Since I often wander around my house and garden while working on a problem – a can’t punish them for having the same need.

By: Elona Hartjes

Elona Hartjes — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 18:11:46 +0000

Mathew,
Excellent suggesations for those learners who need to move about. Some of us have those twitchy muscles that need to move and can’t be still for extended periods of time.