Linking up with my Lizards at The Lounge, this week over at The Very Inappropriate Blog.
I look back at my own teenage years at school and I smile as I remember where I fit in. Sports group, definitely not. Nerds, no. The Intellectuals, uh-uh.
I was just an all-round nice kid; friends with most people, enemies with no-one.
I wish kids were as simple as I was.
Now as a teacher, I yearn for the plainness of the good old days.
Back in the days when school work was Hard.
Classroom. Best handwriting. Local library. Cardboard from the newsagent.
Perkins Paste. The neighbour’s set of World Books. Scissors. Illustrations.
And the covert operation of tearing relevant pictures out of the mags down at the doctor’s surgery.
That’s a fair bit of running around.
But simple.
One or two biros, a set of Faber Castell’s from Jewel and an annual unbranded pencil case and bag from Venture.
The days when a thick black texta, Liquid Paper and glitter were serious currency.
Those days.
When imagination worked harder and when finding inspiration was elusive but so worth the wait. The days when we used what we could, valued the little we had and considered the information we discovered for more than just a fleeting moment.
Those pre-internet days.
Now that I am a teacher and parent, I yearn for my kids to slow down and think for themselves. To find out answers by asking a question, turning a page. To respond to a stimulus by physically moving, researching and developing a considered reply.
Who got better quality teaching and learning?
Us back then, or the kids of today?
Gen X or Gen Y?
Are you a teenage dirtbag? Show your age at The Lounge this week!
Love,
Robo
RoboMum 