Tip of the Week: I’m Not “Feeling It!”

Do you remember:

• A favorite vacation?
• A proud moment at work, church, or home where what you did was affirmed?
• A hard-earned accomplishment that was finally realized?
• A conversation where you felt truly listened to?

Likewise, do you remember:

• A stressful family  vacation or trip where you couldn’t wait to get back home to recover?
• Being unappreciated?
• Your hard work not being recognized?
• An important conversation where you felt like you were talking past each other?

Feeling tone has a  huge impact on what we remember. We remember best the things that are associated with positive feelings. We also remember the things that are associated negative feelings. And sometimes, if the experience is too negative, we repress the memory totally as a way of coping.

Experiences that are simply neutral or bland are hard to recall. To the question, “How was school today?” comes a common answer, “It was OK.” “What did you learn today?” “Stuff.” As far as the student is concerned, he or she learned nothing of consequence. Just another day in the classroom. There’ll be another one just like it tomorrow. And the day after. Summer can’t come soon enough.

Reminds me of the AT&T commercial jingle, “Just OK is not OK.”

So, how do we incorporate feeling tone into our daily home school lessons to make them memorable, more than “just OK”?

Let’s say you’re studying the Civil War and you want your children to recall some part of it, some sequence of events, or the impact an incident had.

• Act out the event? If they like acting and this is a co-op group, this could work.
• Create a notebook about the topic? I’ve used this approach myself.
• Research and write a paper? Ditto. Used this approach too.
• Draw, paint, or illustrate the point of the lesson? Artistically inclined students will especially like this.
• Make a diorama? This would be popular with students who like to work with their hands.
• Use a textbook and have your child answer look-up questions that appear on every other page? Well, you could do this.

But not every student is an actor, a writer, an artist, a builder, etc.

My recommendation is that you let them choose the way they want to show you what they learned, that they got the point of the lesson. The feeling tone associated with their choosing is likely to be more positive than neutral than if you simply tell them, “Here’s what you’re going to do, let’s get busy.”

Of course, you’ll need to limit the number of ways you offer your student to choose from to show their  understanding.

Recognize the impact feeling tone has on remembering something. Build your lessons around activities  your student will find enjoyable and pleasant.

That’s the tip of the week!

Curt Bumcrot, MRE                  

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