John Francis wrote: > > We live in a society fuelled by instant gratification and > disposable > > everything. We need children today who will want to know > how things work. > > There, in brief, is the nub of it. > > You can't teach anybody who doesn't want to learn. > > Trying to teach photography to a room full of children by > taking them away from the familiar environment of their > computer is about as good an idea as teaching swimming by > throwing kids into the deep end of the pool. > > Start off by showing how to improve the images they are familiar with. > Composition and timing can be taught even using a cellphone camera. > If you can get them interested, then discussing further > techniques (which could include at least a field trip to a > conventional darkroom) lets you pace the material to the > interest level of the students. > > Teaching techniques that would be suitable for an elective > course at a fine arts college aren't necessarly the best at > high school. > The course should be of interest (and value) to everybody in > the classroom, not just to one or two students.
A vast number of children are lost before they even join the education system. So many are stuck in front of the television from an early age to entertain themselves that it is inevitable that the situation you describe will happen. Children at an early age now often have little input into what is going on, other than being there. Mine are used to long walks - I take the car when really required only, not a 'green' issue, but I see no reason for short car journeys when you can chat on the way and discuss things, without being distracted. Constructional toys abound here. A few of us locally are seeing older children struggle with simple problems, which wouldn't have been the case ten years ago. Because of the gratification culture, attention spans are getting shorter. Watch your TV for proof of that. We are often treated like idiots and it is becoming a self fulfilling prophecy. Success in today's world comes at a price; often long hours, demanding work conditions and that leaves little time for spending time with the children, which often then involves buying things for them as an appeasement in lieu of the time you can't give. By the time they reach school, it is already too late.... Not pretty. They are lost in a world of technology without a clue how it works (except to a small minority) and don't give a damn. Do you like our future? I don't want my three to be other than happy in what they do for a living at some stage, I'd just like them not to be saying 'Do you want fries with that?' as their most used work phrase. Make learning fun early on or... Malcolm
