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What a question for a teacher. I taught English and Spanish in high school for 23 years and tried many different methods. Seems the best is ACTION. That's right - ACTION. Whatever is being learned is absorbed best when there is some action to help make it stick in the brain.
Most of my junior English students hated poetry. The most common comment was, "I never understand the poem like the teacher wants me to." My comment back, "You're not supposed to." I taught literature as something that was alive and speaking. Each student was free to receive whatever the story or poem was saying to that individual. Yea, we studied some technical things, as meter, etc. We looked at the tragic hero and talked about how to make a story speak to the reader with lively words. Then the student was allowed to express like or dislike of a work in a constructive way. ACTION
I loved to take the students of Spanish on trips to experience the language and culture, whether to an art museum to view actual Spanish masters, or a Spanish country to experience the life of the everyday Spanish world. They got to make mistakes in speaking, observe and take part in everyday activities, taste different foods, and know how it feels to not be the one who's right all the time. ACTION
It's not always possible to get them out of the classroom, so what to do? Bring in music, videos, and the internet. Don't just allow them to sit. Make life experiences in the subject area real to them. A classroom should be a living thing, not static. The teacher is the living, breathing entity to give life to it all. ACTION
Then there are those students full of questions, usually asked at the wrong times. That's their ACTION, the asking, the curiosity. So many times these kids are never given answers, because they ask at the wrong time. Answer them later. If teachers forget, they eventually quit asking. They just coast through, seeming not to be interested, but they're seekers of knowledge. They want to know. They want ACTION.
What about those who just don't want to learn? They're there - some full of the wrong kind of action - some almost comatose. But, teachers don't know what comment or activity is going to wake them up. Seeing one of those students come alive with a desire to learn is awesome. It's what teaching is all about.
ACTION - the best teacher. It works.

Learn more about this author, Charlotte Hansen.
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