Don't Forget to Keep the Fun in Education

The other day at school I was outside picking up students after recess when I noticed how great the sky looked.

It was very blue and filled with those "fluffy" clouds. The wind was strong and you could see the clouds moving around. For some reason I felt compelled to have my students stay outside and sit with me for a few minutes.

We watched the clouds.

At first some of the students were confused (probably because they have never been given the time in school to watch clouds), but as one or two began to tell me what they saw happening, others eagerly got involved.

One student told me how one of the clouds looked to her like an elephant. Another student observed how the clouds seemed to race. And a third asked me if he could sit on a cloud!

As a parent and a teacher I am always trying to learn from kids. I want them to learn tool I find it is a process that is two-way and it takes great patience.

The point I want those involved in education to hear is that when we have all of our discussions about what is good for kids in school (and in life), we seem to constantly forget that the most important thing for any child is to have fun.

I am not saying that we should neglect discipline, but it worries me when I constantly hear words like, "standards", "assessment", "benchmarks", etc. – and I never hear the word "fun".

We need to be careful that in our adult desire to make children "clear the bar", we do not disregard all the other things in their lives that are interesting.

Dolls and hot wheels are learning tools too. And so are clouds.

Ed Note: Bliss teaches at School 14 in the Rochester School District. This article appeared in the 10/8/98 Democrat & Chronicle.