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Volume II, No. 2 FIELD TRIPS FOR EARLY-LEARNERS Sheltered
in a cavernous garage, a group of mothers and children watched as a car was
raised on the hydraulic lift. Looking at the now visible chassis, they
listened as a mechanic pointed out each of the parts on the underside off the
car. Many of
the women, having never seen a car from this perspective, interjected
comments and questions as the mechanic continued. Responding to their mothers’
enthusiasm, the children added comments at their own experience with cars, “I
helped my Daddy change the oil.” “Our car has the engine in the back.” “We
have a car.” The mechanic listened to each contribution with the sensitivity
off a father. When the
car was once again on the ground, the mechanic opened the hood and identified
the parts of the engine. He showed the children samples of antifreeze and oil
and told them what was required to keep a car running. All of the information
be gave related to the real car in front off the group, a teaching technique
which enjoyably focused the group’s attention. Field trips offer a kind of learning not found
in any book. They unravel the mysteries of things we’ve always wanted to
understand, and they develop interest in things we may have never previously
thought of. Every interest which we have was developed
through exposure — either to the idea that something existed or to the thing
itself. Field trips are an extremely useful tool in exposing us to the rich
variety of life. They respond to children’s insatiable appetite for learning
and encourage adults and children alike to reach out beyond the confines of
daily routine. YOUR ATTITUDE COUNTS A key consideration in planning field trips is
the attitude of the attending adults. When the adults have positive
expectations about the trip, the children tend to respond to this. For this
reason it’s important for the parents on the trips to feel enthusiastic about
what they’re going to see, and to have positive expectations regarding the
children’s behavior. Proper preparation for the trip is another key element
in making the field trips a success for everyone involved. A SIMPLE BEGINNING The first step in planning your own field
trips is to find a few other parents who would like to block out time for
this kind of excursion. As a group you’ll then need to decide whether you
want to take trips once a week, once a month, or simply by special
arrangement. Finding a time when all of you are available may require some
compromise, as working within any group situation often does. Having a time
which is blocked out especially for field trips ensures that more of the
participants will be able to attend. Otherwise you run the risk of arranging
a field trip and then finding that everyone’s too busy to go. A simple way to start field trips is by
visiting people you already know. Your parents’ group can have a
“brainstorming session” to list the people each of you knows who have
interesting hobbies or jobs: Who repairs his own appliances, or works with
ceramics? Who could lead the field trip group on a plant identification walk
or in singing some favorite children’s songs? Who might be able to arrange a
half-hour tour at the place where he works? Add to this list all the places which you know
will welcome tours: museums of art, history, science, natural history and
culture; arboretums, botanical gardens, libraries and zoos. Decide how you would like to share the
responsibility for arranging the trips. When contacting friends and
neighbors, it’s easiest to let the person who knows the potential field trip
host make the initial contact. You may want to let one person call the people
he or she knows for one month of field trips, then let another parent take a
turn the following month. After you’ve had some experience as a field
trip group, you’ll even be able to contact people you’ve never met. The
Yellow Pages of Learning Resources,* is an excellent guide to arranging
and getting the most out of field trips. This 94-page paperback covers
excursions ranging from “newspapers” to “vacant lots.” It is invaluable in
stimulating your ability to spot the learning opportunities in your
community. It asks questions designed to develop interest, and offers
information useful in enriching the trip. After some experience with this,
you’ll be able to spot potential field trip sites in newspaper articles, or
even while driving down the street. ARRANGING A FIELD TRIP Write out what you want to say to potential
field trip hosts baton you pick up the phone to call them. Include the
following points: 1) Tell
them why you’re calling: You represent a small group of parents and children
who like to visit people with interesting talents or jobs. You think visiting
them would be especially interesting because (compliment them telling them
why you think they’d be interesting.) 2) If
necessary, reassure them by pointing out the ratio of adults to children and
the expectations for positive behavior on the field trips. (If you’re just
starting as a field trip group, let your friends act as hosts and ask if they
could work with you in setting the tone for the visits.) 3) Ask
if you could visit at the time the group agreed upon. For instance, if your
group is available every Tuesday, you could make arrangements for the first
Tuesday your host has available. Arrangements sometimes have to be made over
a month in advance, but if this is done, give your host a “confirmation call”
the week before the field trip. 4) Once
you’ve decided on the time, offer your name and phone number so the host can
contact you if any changes need to be made. (Occasionally, last-minute
cancellations do occur, so you may want to decide ahead of time what the
group would do in that event.) 5) Get
directions on how to get to the field trip site, where to park, any costs,
name of the person conducting the tour, and a brief overview of what you’ll
see. Keep this information in a notebook. 6) Mention
that you’ve found the children are able to take in a great deal of
information if they can see a lot of different objects while they are
listening. If there are any things which the children can touch, or if the
tour involves walking, that adds even more to the visit. Close by thanking
them and letting them know you look forward to the visit. 7) Finally,
let the other parents know the plans. * MIT Press, Massachusetts Institute of
Technology, Cambridge, MA 02142. Basic Principles ● PART
ONE ● THE RELATION BETWEEN SELF-ESTEEM AND DEVELOPMENT “There is no value-judgment more important to man — no
factor more decisive in his psychological development and motivation — than
the estimate he passes on himself.” Nathaniel Branden The
Psychology of Self-Esteem Even the most psychologically unsophisticated
parents know something about the importance of self-esteem; and many parents
have read and thought a lot about it. It’s something we all want a good
portion of for our children. We intuitively feel good about their development
if they obviously like being who they are. Even the least attentive parent
will sense danger signals from children who are learning to feel seriously
inadequate. Teaching reading, swimming, math, and music to
two-year-olds may still be a new idea to the average parent, but virtually
everyone agrees that good parenting involves helping children believe in
themselves. How heartening! Or is it? Since high self-esteem is
universally valued, we’d expect to see a lot of it; yet many psychologists
say it’s rare. According to Nathaniel Branden, in his The Psychology of
Self-Esteem, “The majority of men, as adults, suffer from a significant
deficit of self-esteem.” And a psychologist who differs from Branden on
several points, Albert Ellis, more than agrees on this point. In A Guide to
Rational Living he writes, “Only a relatively limited number of talented,
intelligent, competent, or well-loved people can gain self-esteem or
self-confidence.” Yet there seems to be consensus among
psychologists that parents are right: the level of one’s self-esteem is
extremely important. That consensus is based on much evidence. SOME OF THE RESEARCH A lot of research is available just through
the mass media. One source is the “People Quiz” column, comprised of reports by
John Gibson on the results of various research studies conducted throughout
the world. Over the years he has brought to public attention much research on
self-esteem. Higher Creative
Intelligence In a study done at More Happiness Another study, at Feeling Better Liked Two studies, from the Liking Others More Still another study, at Fewer Accidents Perhaps more startling is research from
the Less Pain Other research, from psychiatrists at the
Less Fear Two more studies, from Stockton State
College and Columbia University, find less fear of death and fewer fears in
general among persons who are self-accepting and have “a heightened sense of
personal identity,” both aspects of high self-esteem. Such a wealth of research may only confirm our
own good common sense. Or it might give us a fuller, more accurate image of
what strong self-esteem really means. A third possibility is that such information
could help redefine what’s possible for us and our children as human beings
now. All of the people studied, those with both low and high self-esteem,
were real people. We can choose to learn from those who had high self-esteem. Research done at That might sound a lot like some of the hopes
we have for our own children. The picture may entice us to learn all we can
about what’s involved in heightening self-esteem, our children’s and our own.
Or, if that picture isn’t inducement enough, maybe one more of Branden’s
insights will be: “To preserve an unclouded capacity for the enjoyment of
life is an unusual moral and psychological achievement. Contrary to popular
belief, it is not the prerogative of mindlessness, but the exact opposite: it
is the reward of self-esteem.” TO MOTHER — OR FATHER — IS TO TEACH “GETTING THE GOODY OUT
OF IT” “The rest of us are leaving now, Susan. We’ll
be down the street at the Chinese grocery store; you and Jenni can meet us
when you finish here. Take your time; I’m glad you’re getting the goody out
of this.” The message was whispered quickly into Susan’s
ear so as not to intrude on the intense concentration of her four-year-old
daughter, whose face was pressed against the glass case displaying a scene
from ancient They were on a field trip to The glass display cases in the back of the
store had been a serendipitous find, and Susan had pointed them out to well.
Jenni right away. As soon as they approached the first one, Susan had read to
herself the plaque below the case, then scanned the displayed scene for ways
to help Jenni take in more of what she was seeing. “Have you ever seen a building with lots
of roofs? Our house has only one roof, and the grocery store has one roof,
and Daddy’s office has one roof, but look at that building; it has lots of
roofs! It’s called a pagoda. And do you know who built it? A great many Chinese
people built it in On the first few field trips they took with
the school, Susan’s way of helping Jenni learn had been very different. She’d
read and heard about children’s short attention span, and had taken it as a
universal truth. She hadn’t related it to the fact that Jenni sometimes
became fascinated and focused for twenty minutes at a time on a special
activity or story. Then Susan’s method of taking Jenni on field
trips had been to dash from one display to the next, “before Jenni got
bored,” and then spend a lot of energy keeping her relatively quiet and still
until the older students had finished learning what they could. It hadn’t
occurred to Susan that she knew better than anyone else how to engage Jenni’s
imagination, how to turn an ordinary scene into an engrossing experience for
this small person whom she knew so Suggestions from Carroll had helped. So had
watching mothers whose children seemed to get the most from trips. No two mothers worked alike, but the most
effective ones shared several traits. Each mother stayed focused on what her
child could be learning; used intimate knowledge of her child to relate as
much of the trip as possible to that child’s personal experience; repeatedly
appealed to her child’s imagination; and usually was able to look at
everything as if for the first time, “playing” richly with whatever was in
front of them to learn about. Susan learned from them how to help Jenni “get
the goody out.” ENSURING SUCCESS The best way to ensure a positive emotional
tone on field trips is to discuss your expectations before you ever take the first
trip. State in positive terms the kind of behaviors you expect from the
children. Agree that a parent may take a child away from the group if the
child should become disruptive, but that the pair may return as soon as the
child is ready. Your preparation for the trip will make a
great deal of difference in your children’s attitudes. You are developing
your children’s interest, and it is important that you see something
interesting about the place you are going to visit. Tell the children a little bit about where
you’re going. Ask them a few questions which may be answered by going on the
field trip. (You may later ask these questions at the tour.) Pack protein or fruit snacks for the drive to
the field trip site and the drive home. Take books which one of the parents
may read to the children, blankets for napping on the way home, and simple
learning tools which can be used by the children independently. (If the
children’s energy level should start to rise in a negative manner, stop the
car in a safe place and take a moment to help them calm down.) While driving to or from a field trip, briefly
discuss the tour. Ask an interested relative to follow-up your trips by
asking your children about what they saw tint day. Let the discussion flow
from a. natural enthusiasm about learning — and the lessons from field trips
will continually unfold! PARENTING FOR EXCELLENCE — Volume II, No. 2 —
February 1982 Parenting
for Excellence is published ten times per year by The Stelle
Group. Subscriptions are sold by the volume, with volumes beginning in
January. Subscription rates are $15 for one year, and queries about
subscriptions and delivery should be sent to The Stelle Group, |
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