歪歪漫画

College students frequently discuss the merits of their teachers. They want to know if the teacher is personable. They want to know if the teacher makes learning enjoyable. They want to know if the teacher will teach them anything. High school students do the same thing.

Although, as an elementary school student, I didn鈥檛 have the choice of choosing teachers because we only had one teacher for each grade, we did ask other students about our teachers.

We wanted to know some things like 鈥淚s she nice?鈥� and, 鈥淚s she fun?鈥� Ultimately, the teachers who passed the grade on those two qualities taught me the most. I鈥檓 sure you could say the same thing.

I am serious about "learning better." We don't often associate "having fun" with more excellent performance. Still, as the best-selling book, "Fish,鈥� by Stephen Lundin showed us, having fun significantly improves the workplace.

Where does one get started on putting more enjoyment into the classroom? Ask yourself, 鈥淗ow well do I know my learners?鈥� Nothing is more important for teachers, groups and youth leaders than to know your learners.

Knowing your learners is one power you cannot overlook. It鈥檚 like learning to make excellent bread pudding by including an apple in the ingredients. Fun is one ingredient you can鈥檛 leave out of the classroom.

Getting to know your learners is one way of improving their classroom performance. Here are some other suggestions.

Do you teach with passion? When learning is not enjoyable, especially at the K-12 level, teaching can be like bucking a blizzard, and we all know that ain鈥檛 no fun.

When teachers enjoy what they teach and show it, learners will begin to associate whatever is taught with enjoyment. Think about the teachers you had that made learning fun.

Our brains enjoy doing things that are safe and comfortable for us. Work on eliminating stress in the classroom and replacing it with trust. Ask yourself, 鈥淗ow is the climate in my classroom?鈥�

As a principal, I had my office resemble a kitchen with a cookie jar in the middle of a kitchen table. I wish I could have had bread baking in an oven. Why do you think families, friends and neighbors often gather around the kitchen table?

Is your content success-laden and fail-proof? When learning is personalized, learners will become more confident in themselves and less likely to fail, which will help their overall performance in the classroom.

No beginning reader is a failure. How can they be if they are reading at their own pace? We begin teaching reading right where they are and move forward. All instruction, especially for struggling students, needs to be personalized.

Before long-term memory can occur, students need to have a reason for learning. Finding fun and enjoyment in something helps students stay engaged.

Can you explain to your students why they are learning physics, algebra or biology so that it will cause them to sit up and notice? Learning English for my students in the Republic of Georgia was difficult.

In every lesson, I always included some activities that made English fun to learn. While teaching about rock 'n' roll in America, we learned the lyrics to the song 鈥淛ohnny B. Goode鈥� by Chuck Berry.

As a graduate-level teacher, I graded myself on how many students took my second and third classes after they took my first class. It鈥檚 kind of like eating in a restaurant. Will people return for more? They will if they have had a good experience.

Here is a selection of three activities from my book, "Put Fun in the Classroom." They will help you reduce stress, create a more welcoming climate, as well as put some fun in the classroom. The result will be that students will perform better. Of equal importance, they will want to return for more.

Twin hunt: Tell students they will have three minutes to find someone in the room who has five of the same features they have. They might wear glasses, have the same kind of shoes, the color of their eyes, and so on.

This is an excellent strategy to help warm up your learners. Next, tell them to find two other people to make a group of four with similar characteristics. Next, form a group of eight.

Silly name game: You or one of your students begins by saying their name and attaching a silly name to it that starts with the first letter of your first name. For example: "My name is Jolly John."

The following person says, "I am Stupendous Sue, and this is Jolly John."

The third person tells their name until everyone in the circle has said it and repeats the names before them. The sillier the name, the more likely the brain will remember it.

How many ways can we line up?: In groups of no more than 20 to 30, the groups are first told several ways that they can line up. One way might be for them to line up according to birthdays. Another way might be for them to line up according to height or distance away from school.

Once some practice lineups are done, have group members decide other ways to line up. Some other examples are shoe size, hair color, sports teams, number of brothers and sisters, etc.

This could be a competitive activity if you had more than one group. Groups could compete to see who could line up the fastest.

Yes, learning is often hard work. At the same time, learning is to be enjoyed. This has nothing to do with lowering standards or expecting less from students. However, it has much to do with how we approach whatever we teach.

Doesn鈥檛 sound right? Think about it. Why should one of the most incredible gifts (i.e. learning) we give our children be painful, boring, and unpleasant? If we want them to continue learning, return for more, and spread the news about who we are as teachers, we need to embrace fun and enjoyment as a primary route to higher achievement.

Riddle: Which of Santa鈥檚 reindeer is the fastest? (Answer: Dasher.) Students will learn faster when they find learning fun.

I want to thank Canine Divine for supporting 100% and placing posters in their window.

John R. Eggers of Bemidji is a former university professor and area principal. He also is a writer and public speaker.