Some people might look at me and say, "she has a type-A personality." And, they would be right. But, this doesn't mean I don't recognize the importance of "chilling out." In Monday's class we talked about different purposes for videos. One purpose for videos is to give students a chance to relax. They go to school for 7 hours, then do extra-curriculars, and then homework.
It's hard for a students to constantly feel engaged in class. I was a total try hard in school. When I was having a busy week sometimes school was my last priority. When it's nearing the end of a quarter and all of the teachers are giving tests, and assigning papers, students become mentally checked out. A video may be beneficial for students to just take a 40 minute breather from their lives.
Using videos to learn content is great, but videos were first made to be entertainers. No matter how much a teacher tries to get their video to mean something to students, whether it be guided notes or pausing to explain things, often times videos go right over student's heads. Maybe videos should be mostly for entertainment in schools.
Giving your brain a break is very important when it comes to learning. If someone's brain is overloaded with information, and they're stressed about this test, and that game, and this project, they really aren't going to care about your video on molecules. As a teacher I want to stress the importance of treating yourself.
In American there is a push to always be productive, and to always be learning something. It's not like this in many other countries. They recognize the need for students to have fun. Fun should not be shunned, or frowned upon. Honestly, after 10th grade I was burnt out. I still got good grades, and participated, but none of it really mattered to me. I was involved in every club, and I had 8 hours of homework every night.
The act of going to school was my break from all of this sometimes. I could go on and on about homework, and how ridiculous I think it is after sitting in school for the better of the day, but I won't right now. It's okay to show a video to students that might not be super educational. It obviously should relate to what is being learned, but it doesn't have to be from Discovery Channel.
If we read a book in class, there is a 100% chance I will make time for my students to watch that movie. Some teacher might see that as a waste of time, but I think it's beneficial to student's health. The few days before a break is a great time to show videos. This is when students are very checked out. If you tried to show them an educational video, and actually understand something before break, you might get 1/3 of the class to zone in.
Student's need to have fun, and videos can be a really good way to give them a mental break. I know I needed that when I was in school, and I very much appreciated it when teacher's were kind enough to let us watch the video without taking notes. All I'm saying is that it's not a sin to let student's chill out with movie time every once in a while. They'll respect and appreciate you as a teacher much more if you give them a break.
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