I received a thank you note in my mailbox at school this morning. It was short, simple and well written. He thanked me for telling interesting stories. Reading it caused me to remember a student who asked me,
How do you have so many stories?
I jokingly told her you just have to be old, and you will collect your own stories. But I got to thinking this morning. I wonder if I lied to her? I'm not sure that kids today (geez, I said it, I really am old) will have the same stories. And the stealer of stories is screens. And it is within stories that we find the wonder of science. Here is a short list of scientific observations I would not have made if I had a screen as a kid.
The flight pattern of arrows shot up in the air.
The density of donkey apples.
The taste of the alkaloids in dandelions.
The flash point of Aqua Net and ether.
How to engineer a treehouse.
That you can hatch mosquitoes in your room.
You can catch bees in your hand if you are fast.
The rotational velocity of a poorly designed rocket car.
The list could go on and on and on. Here is what is not on my list. How many enemies I beat on Clash of Cletuses. And yet, as a dad, I have to daily fight the battle of screens being waged against my children's future stories. I want my children to have stories. I want them to make mistakes and learn to think. I want them to passionately love observing the world that we live in. And that is science. So why am I writing this article and the beginning of summer break? So you can dream up how to engage a disengaged generation. So you can train up your own children. Here are 3 quick concepts you can introduce to your classroom or living room.
Don't have the answer.
How many times have you heard that question, "Mr./Mrs. ______ is this right?" Do you wonder why they are asking that question? Usually, it has nothing to do with being right. It has everything to do with being DONE. My stock answer to that question is, "I have no idea, what does the data show?" And this is groundbreaking to their screenified brains. They are used to instant feedback as to whether they won or lost. They get glitter and fireworks when they are right and skulls and tears when they are wrong. They live in a binary world. It's right or it's wrong. Screens rarely communicate to kids that the answer is unclear. The finish is undefined. More testing is needed. You need to communicate with another student to see what their data suggested. So if you tell them the answer is right or the answer is wrong, you are feeding their screen addiction.
Let them struggle. Let them retest. Let them communicate. Let them squirm. But don't tell them "The Answer."
2. Make them uncomfortable.
Why do we all turn to our screens? For comfort. For escape. Because we are afraid that in the two minutes that our lunch is in the microwave, we might miss out on something on social media. (Don't lie. Some of you have done that.) It's a habit. And the best way to break habits is to become uncomfortable. I have had the pleasure of teaching some unique classes that allowed me to push kids out of their comfort zones. I taught a semester-long survival class. Some of the kids only had marginal outdoor experiences. So we went to the river near the school and got out of their comfort zone. We tried wild edibles. And they learned that edible and palatable are totally different things. For their final, they had to take an old tennis uniform, break through the ice in the river to soak it, and then build a fire to get it dry before the end of the period. In the 10 degree Montana weather, they were most definitely out of all comfort. Some of the girls caught their shirt on fire.
They were out of their comfort zone. And they made observations. And they grew.
I know that we don't all have access to teaching these types of classes. And it is much harder in the classroom to push them to their limits.
I teach a unique environmental science class in which the students learn from professionals, create and test a prototype, and then pitch their invention back to the professionals at the end of the unit. Standing in front of a very well-qualified panel pushes them out of their comfort zone. When they look at the people who spent their whole life in this area, they feel exposed and unsure. And they learn.
They learn to try hard. They learn to take risks and solve problems. They learn to tear apart a Toyota truck to get the window actuator because they need it for their automated solar powered compost bin.
This year I took them birding during our invasive species unit. For the duration of the unit, they had to create a little life list. They had to swallow their pride and look nerdy in town wearing binoculars as they were identifying birds. And about half way through the unit, something miraculous happened. At the end of my class period, many of the seniors had early release. When I was gathering them up to go back to school, they asked if they could STAY. It's like they were asking to do more homework! And it was because they were forced out of their comfort zone. It still makes me smile that they text me the new birds that they have added to their list. And graduation is long over.
3. Let them fail.
I hate watching kids fail. I know that I could rescue them. I know a better way. I know what it takes. But if I rescue them, THEY won't know a better way. THEY won't know what it takes. So we teachers must walk this perilous tight rope. Don't tip too far to this side which is always saving kids from failing. But don't tip to the other side either, where kids feel abandoned and alone. Let kids measure their lab incorrectly. Let them leave it on the burner too long. Let them not label their test tubes. And then teach them. Come alongside them in their failures and help THEM discover the way out. Let THEM see the error and fix it. Will it take longer? Yep. Will it be as clean? Nope. Will it be THEIR'S? Absolutely. And when it is their own, they can tell the story. And one day, they will be standing in front of a class or their family retelling of the time they ran screaming from the rocket car that spun in fiery circle spreading chunks and shrapnel all over the playground. Because it's their story.
Want more encouragement for Christian outdoorsmen? Check out Brennan's 31-day devotional.
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