How Fixation & Repetition Ensure Classroom Success

Some dictionaries define fixation as an unhealthy preoccupation with something, but looking at it from an educational aspect in the woodshop I refer to it as "intense interest" in the project on hand. When a student becomes fixated on a project it is a beautiful thing to witness as a teacher. When it happens it's as bright in my eyes as is a traffic light turning from red to green then engines roaring at full thrust. The students entire psyche is engaged and he is oblivious to everything except his own focus. It really is that obvious but usually I'm the only one who sees it occur in the woodshop because I maintain my own intense focus on what's going on.

Just recently one of my students was fixated on his project with such intensity that I'm not sure if he would have heard my hands slap together. He did occasionally "come up for air" to ask my advice on a particular problem but his focus was full-throttle on learning how to make the mechanisms on his small box mouse trap work.

Yes, he asked for help but there was no doubt in my mind that he really wanted to master the skills to do it himself. I knew this to be true because after working on the trap for several woodshop periods he asked if he could make another one which leads to the power of repetition. And I'm not talking about the repetition inflicted on me as a child after misbehaving in class, then my teacher telling me to write 100 times, "The true meaning of discipline is not punishment, but the development of enough self control to study, learn, and achieve great things." (I must have written that phrase 10,000 times in elementary school) I'm talking about the kind of repetition that is present when a student wants to learn something new with a passion that can transform their very lives.

Doing something over and over again is probably the most powerful method of learning something new, but when the student is motivated to learn without the teachers constant nudging then he becomes empowered and in control of his own education..."to study, learn, and achieve great things."

With the right motives, prompts, and the ability to engage students imagination with meaningful hands-on activity, good teachers can also reach high levels of student engagement in any classroom setting. Most teachers are good for kids because teaching is a values driven profession but students constantly read you like a book and they know if you're genuine or if you're "just there". That can also be easily applied to parents and grandparents as well so step up to the plate and show a kid how to empower themselves.

Scouting Celebrates 100 Years In America

How could I let February slip by without mentioning the centennial of Scouting in America. Although it first originated in the United Kingdom in 1907 by General Robert Baden-Powell Scouting  first came to America on February 8, 1910 and this massive youth organization has been unstoppable ever since. Today there's 4 million youth members in the BSA and over 110 million Americans have been members at some point in their lives including Presidents Gerald Ford, Bill Clinton, and George W. Bush.

No doubt about it, Scouting has had an enormous impact on American culture for 100 years and I am more sure than ever that it will continue in strength for another 100 years. Why? The simple answer in my opinion is because "boys will be boys" and the BSA meets their needs for adventure ten-fold. Despite a modern culture that now seems to foster less personal responsibility and self-reliance and with political correctness gone berserk at every turn.. I still predict that Scouting will become larger and stronger than ever before.

Scouting offers the experiences that a boy needs to be successful and the kind of activities that have been engrained in their very being for eons. It's hard to erase those impulses that makes boys boys.

Scouting is light years apart from the prepackaged entertainment produced by modern culture and overprotective parents. Sure it seems easier to just place the kid in front of a TV screen or video game inside the house all day but doing so will produce only mediocre adults at best. Boys need adventure, hands-on activity, competition, and opportunities for "in the field" leadership. Scouting is all that and much more.

Sometimes it can be pretty hard to "unplug" a boy when they first come to camp but it's usually not long before they begin to see the opportunities and to engage. There's just something about pitching your own tent and sleeping in it overnight... paddling a canoe for 50 miles, or learning to shoot a bow & arrow that brings out the best in a kid. These are the kinds of experiences that build real friendships, quality parent-son relationships, and the character that leads to the husbands and fathers of tomorrow who will always be there for their family. You'll never reach these kinds of levels by following the path of least resistance which can be found in abundance in today's culture where parents allow their children to play mindless video games with no limits. As seen in the pictures to the left, I had very little time for TV when I was a youngster.

One of the best things about Scouting is that a troop is youth led. At a certain age, usually by sixth grade, most boys begin saying to themselves, "That I don't need to listen to adults as much". But when an older boy tells them to "Clean up your tent" or "Do the dishes" they listen. Peer pressure works miracles and the Scouts of today are youth-led.

Membership in Scouts only costs $15/year and about $200 for summer camp. No doubt about it you can't get a better bang for the buck when it comes to building character for the next generation. So long as Scouts continues to be youth-led, high adventure, and 100 percent hands-on then it will be around for another 100 years. Happy anniversary!

Will America Lose A Generation Of Boys?

While recently reading an article on the purpose of boys in the November/December issue of Scouting magazine by author Sean Mitchell one paragraph caught my attention. Now several weeks later I have continued a struggle to not only understand it's underlying meaning but even more I have become increasingly concerned about the consequences of a future that is clearly neglecting the unique needs of boys. Mr. Mitchell stated, “Obama has started a President’s council on girls and women,” Gurian points out. “So did Bush and so did Clinton. There’s no President’s council on boys and men. We’re still fighting the fight to get people to talk about boys. It’s not an either-or.”

While I don't intend for this blog to become political at first I was surprised to learn that presidents in both major political parties seem to be letting down a generation of boys. After a couple of weeks of thought I realized that this neglect has perhaps been due to an over-reaction from politicians to appear politically correct while innocently attempting to correct generations of injustice. Whatever the reason I would have to stand by the late Martin Luther King, Jr. when he said, "that an injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere."

With that said it seems apparent to me that both boys and girls should be receiving equal attention to their own unique needs. As for boys, yes they are different and yes they have different needs than those of girls. From a total of 28 years of working with at-risk kids it is clearly apparent to me that boys are first and foremost "action" oriented. It is a fact that boys process what troubles them best when they are busy doing something with their hands or engaged in an action based activity. Whether it's in a school woodshop class building a birdhouse, paddling a canoe, or casting his rod & reel on the lake... boys brains are at their best whenever they are engaged in movement or activity.

Mitchell goes on to say that, "The urgency for boys is that they don’t ruminate and reflect as much as girls do. They don’t set up coherent bonding systems as much as girls do." Although both boys and girls equally need to open up and reflect their experiences with a trusted adult, from my experiences a boy opens up best when they are first engaged in some form of action activity as I mentioned in the last paragraph. While a girl can perhaps reflect best in a quiet, settled environment, a boys mind is at its best when they are busy doing something with their hands.

During this age of information our educational system seems to be much more focused on the maths & sciences when presenting their curriculum for both boys and girls with little or no offerings to the unique needs of boys. In the article Mitchell also mentioned that Gurian, author of The Minds of Boys, which examines why boys are not doing as well as girls in school and how to change that.Without even reading the book I can tell you that what boys need in our current school curriculum is more hands-on learning and school woodshop programs can meet those needs. We're now asking our boys to sit still and listen in a classroom all day long then wonder why they are falling behind. Fortunately there are a few great leaders in a few great schools that clearly understand the action based needs of boys and those administrators are going the extra mile to ensure that students are receiving a well-rounded curriculum but these days that is the exception, not the rule.

At one point in the history of this country a much greater importance was placed upon a hands-on education. If we are going to save the next generation of boys then it is time for the leaders in both political parties to once again understand that both girls and boys have different ways of learning, reflecting, and processing information. Hopefully too there will be more school principals who are willing to make the sacrifices to provide our children with a more "complete" education because only then will no child be left behind.