In love with learning- Are you helping your children love learning?

SOMEWHERE out there in the big, wide world are a few dozen young adults who fondly remember the day their middle school teacher took them on a trek across the world-renowned Golden Gate Bridge.

The simple field trip the 60 kids took with San Lorenzo teacher Mimi Dean made a lasting impact on the young Bohannon Middle School students.

"They voted going across the Golden Gate Bridge the best field trip they’d ever had," says Dean, from her lively arts and crafts classroom. "Only one kid had ever driven or walked across the bridge. Can you believe that?"

By Zoe Francis Oakland Tribune

Experiences like field trips, low-cost community classes or even a simple visit to the library are the key to getting kids of all ages excited about learning, says Dean, a 14-year teaching veteran.

"You need to have those life experiences with your child, even if it’s just up to Garin park (in Hayward) or a half-hour out to Half Moon Bay," she says. "The hands-on experiences are what the kids are going to remember and what they’re going to cherish. That’s a really great way to get your kids interested in learning."

While all kids must go to school, not all kids enjoy the experience. It’s up to parents and teachers to take simple steps that will inspire and compel a child’s innate curiosity about the world.

Instead of wondering what sparks a child’s love of learning, psychologist Brendan Pratt prefers tackling the issue from the opposite approach.

"Most kids start off with a joy of learning," he says. "What is it that we’re doing wrong that takes out their natural joy of learning?"

Pratt, who runs a Peninsula-based education evaluation practice for families, worries that teachers and parents too often concentrate on rote skills to memorize facts instead of inspiring children to seek answers and solve problems.

"If you take a 4-year-old child to a place like the Exploratorium (in San Francisco), they want to touch things and explore things and take apart things to figure out how they work," he says. "One of the things that we do in some schools is rather than encouraging their natural joy of learning, we are telling them rote facts."

While it’s true that California schools are saddled with meeting state standards each year, there are methods by which teachers and parents can make the learning process fun, says Pratt, who’s also a pediatric neuropsychologist.

"Let’s say that you have a 7-year-old child who loves trains," he says. "They are happy to do a math problem that involves counting trains. It has to somehow tie in to what the child enjoys."

Pratt fondly recalls a teacher who used the names of all the kids in the class to spice up the normally dry math lessons. That small, personal touch made routine math quizzes more fun.

"The schools that are successful are the ones that incorporate the children’s natural desire to learn," Pratt says from his Los Altos office.

Teachers and parents must accept that every child is different, says Jim Zarrillo, professor of teacher education at California State University, Hayward. They must then tailor their lessons, in the classroom or in life, to meet the unique challenges of each child.

"Every child has something that he or she is good at," Zarrillo says. "That has to be acknowledged. Accept and recognize that children are different. Take joy in their differences. That’s a key to having success in the classroom."

Adults should never shy away from challenging kids, says Zarrillo, an elementary school teacher for 10 years. Most adults remember two pivotal moments from their elementary school days.

"The first thing that comes up is a time that was traumatic for them," he says. "Maybe a teacher embarrassed them in front of the class. Then they remember when they made a model harbor or when they went on a field trip to a mission and then made a model of that mission. They remember the things that challenge them."

The golden standard of quality time vs. quantity time still holds true in sparking a child’s love of learning, Zarrillo says.

"Read with your children," he urges. "Take them to the library. Go to museums. And not just museums, but go to the Golden Gate Bridge or Mt. Diablo."

Even a simple trip to the grocery store and discussing what you bought as you put away the groceries at home expands a child’s base of knowledge, Zarrillo says.

"The more things that parents get out and do with children — the more they see and experience firsthand — the more successful they’re going to be in school," he says.

As children get older, it’s crucial that they make the connection between what they’re learning in school and how it will help them in the real world, says Beth Christensen, counselor at Harvest Park Middle School in Pleasanton.

"You have to connect learning to real life," she says. "I knew a teacher who actually took kids onto a job site to show them how much math goes into being a carpenter. They’re not just pounding nails."

It’s also critical that school subjects not be separated to the point where there’s no connection between subjects, Christensen says.

"It’s really important that you connect all the subjects together," she says. "When I taught math, I always had writing assignments."

When children start to develop career interests, parents should seek ways to foster that curiosity, Christensen said. A student interested in being a lawyer could apply for a summer internship at a law firm. A child who loves animals can volunteer at the animal shelter.

"If there’s something they’re interested in, you show them how they get there," Christensen says. "Or go on the Internet and do some research."

Parents must remember, however, that actions speak louder than words, particularly with teenagers, Christensen says.

"The key to remember as a parent is don’t talk. Show," she says. "Teenagers do not want to hear it. All they hear is adults talking to them all day. Show them that they’re going to need that math."

It’s a lot more exciting doing something than to hear your parents talk about it.

Christensen and middle school teacher Dean advocate students being active in community service and other volunteer chores.

"Community service helps them with their self-esteem," Christensen says. "It gives them a sense of accomplishment that they can do something. When you feel good about yourself, you’re confident that you can learn."

Dean enjoys getting her students and their families involved in a gardening project to beautify the school. Getting down and dirty with plants that will one day thrive in that soil gives kids a positive experience.

"It gives kids the chance to do something they might not normally do," Dean says. "It builds pride in the kids. When we’re gardening on our beautification days, I get to hang around with the families and I really get to know them."

Dean, who admits her teaching styles are somewhat unorthodox, embraces her students’ differences. She may challenge them by giving them an assignment but lets them choose in which form it will be presented. Some students prefer writing a report, while others may choose to make a model or compose music.

"You need to allow for that spontaneity and creativity," she says. "Support your child’s choices, whatever those choices are. Encourage them instead of telling them what they’re doing is wrong. Encouraging them is important."

Encourage your children to do their best, Pratt says, but don’t push them to succeed based on the test scores of other kids.

Above all, parents must set an example by showing that they enjoy learning and just hanging out with their kids, Dean notes.

"Show you’re interested and you care about what your kid is doing," she says. "That’s so easy. It only takes 10 minutes a day. You can do it when you’re driving to school or when you sit down for a quick dinner. Be there for your kid."

You can reach Zoe Francis at 925-730-3356 or at [email protected] .

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