Hatchet, by Gary Paulsen

I may be late to the party, but apparently this book is some sort of classic. Looking for something new to read to my class I stumbled across a copy of Hatchet on the shelves of the library. My mind immediately cast back to the many times others had recommended the book, and lacking any other concrete ideas, I pulled it from the shelf.

Hatchet, by Gary Paulsen, is a survival book. It is about a young boy called Brian Robeson travelling by aeroplane to visit his father when disaster strikes. Over the Canadian forests the pilot suffers a fatal heart attack. While Brian does his best to keep the plane on course, it eventually crashes, leaving an injured Brian to take care of himself in the wild.

I doubt I needed to even write that much, Hatchet is one of those books that everyone bar me seems to have read in high-school or at some other point in their lives. It has a reputation that makes the book feel ubiquitous, like it's something I should have read, even if I hadn't. Looking over Goodreads, it also seems to fall into the love/hate dichotomy. I can understand.

Hatchet is written in a very striking style. It is written in short sentences, and makes much use of repetition. The book makes statements, makes statements and then repeats them, repeats them and slightly expands them each time.

If I were reading the book to myself I think I might have found the style interesting, but occasionally stilted. As it was I read the book out loud to my class, and the repetition and mixture of short and longer sentences gave the book a rhythm. As if it was always meant to be read out loud. The story had a beat, it rose and fell, was tense and interesting, engaging and dramatic; I enjoyed it immensely.

Story wise Hatchet is is relatively simple, a tale of survival in a harsh and unrelenting wilderness, an alien world to the city-dweller Brian. This is not to criticise the narrative arc, the story is as much about the evolution of Brian as it is about the trials and tribulations he suffers while fighting to survive. The continual mistakes, set-backs and fell chances that befall Brian are counterpointed by the successes and discoveries he makes as he learns to get by. The book is primal; Brian's failures and challenges are keenly felt, and his successes permits us moments to bask in celebratory warmth on our protagonists part. As a reader I felt compelled and engaged the entire time, and my students seemed to enjoy it a lot too (many borrowed later books in the series).

If you, like me, are one of the few people who has not read Hatchet, I would thoroughly recommend it. If you find the writing style off-putting, I suggest reading it as if it is being read out loud, a story told over flickering flames rather than processed silently. I'm glad I read Hatchet, it was captivating in both its use of language and its classic survival story and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I think it'll make my regular cycle of reading material for my classes.

Sensory Trays

Every classroom is a snapshot of society. When you read or a hear a statistic, x% of kids are y, those kids are present in every school, in every class. Any person who has cause to work with large groups of people will know the same to be true.

Every class contains students with diverse learning needs, and in my class I'm lucky enough to work with an aide who helps run and individualized program for some of my class members. Scrolling through Pinterest she found some interesting activities that make use of sensory trays. Sensory based activities are great for students with a range of learning needs, but seem to be most commonly used with students on the autism spectrum. We had a look around at educational suppliers who sold sensory trays, but like anything for a wedding, anything for a classroom magically costs a significant amount of money.

With the prospect of purchasing a collection of Sensory Trays unlikely I thought, 'What the hell, I'll just make some'. To be honest, they probably ended up costing a not insignificant amount, though I did make 8 of them.

I used 40mm x 10mm stripping for the edges, and 3mm MDF for the base. The trays are roughly 450mm x 300 mm. The stripping was glued and screwed in place, and sanded back. I also used a wood burner to label them. Lastly, they were finished with 4 coats of marine grade polyurethane varnish. In retrospect I would have done a few things differently, but I had fun putting them together and now have a collection I can use at school and a couple I can keep at home for my kids to play with.

Since I enjoyed making these I think my next project will be to make some sensory boards... should be good fun.

A love of reading

A vast majority of the posts on this blog are related to games and gaming. This post, however, will buck the trend; I want to write about a love of reading.

Books are a wonder. Unknowing and not counting the passing of minutes and hours, reading books can ensnare us, tangle us in other places, times, worlds and imaginings. They can take us on emotional journeys. They can make us laugh, cry, get so angry we have to put the book down only to pick it up again moments later. They can get us so excited our eyes leap from sentence to sentence, racing to see where the action leads. They are a way to experience, a key to knowledge, a challenge to our preconceptions, a teacher of wisdom and language and expression.

Some of my fondest memories from my youth are of me rolled up in my blankets reading Tolkien, Eddings, Feist, Asimov and others, while the silent and dark Earth rolled through the night. I don't read as much as I used to, and it is something I want to get back into the habit of, but I have an undying love of it still, and will, I think, always.

I am lucky enough to have three wonderful children I get to read to, although our evening routine is sometimes just a chaotic and exhausting struggle to make sure they are fed, bathed and in bed. I also have a day job that lets me express my love of learning and reading the (unlucky) kids in my class.

Reading aloud is always something I have enjoyed. Putting expression and emphasis into description, using voices and whispering and thundering the dialog where required appeals to my overwrought sense of drama.

Teaching, as I do, 8-9 year olds, allows for a certain amount of class time dedicated to a class book. I have my favourite books to read, and every year the children in my class will no doubt get to hear of the bravery of Mrs Frisby, the daring of Harry Potter, and the exploits of Mr Fox. Every year I also try and find some new book or three they might also enjoy. The last few years have introduced the kids and myself to Artemis Fowl, A Wrinkle in Time, Alex Rider and many others, and no doubt a few of these will become regulars in years to come.

Every year it's interesting to see the responses of the kids. A few years ago I had a class that would applaud after every reading (unprompted I assure you), this year my class will borrow as many copies of the same book as they can find and sit in little huddles following on as we read.

At the moment we are reading Little House in the Big Wood, by Laura Ingalls Wilder, and I, in a terrible Southern American accent (wrong accent no doubt, but recognisably American at least), and finding myself drawn through the window into a beautifully sketched world remarkably different to our own. The kids have been horrified at a deer being butchered, disgusted by the making of cheese, fascinated by the making of bullets or of little Laura playing with her corn husk doll. In short, it is a fascinating book, remarkably approachable given the span of time, and one I am enjoying a lot. I cannot think of any book I have read that has given the kids more insight into the past than this one, nor one where they have had so many questions. I thoroughly recommend it, though it is obviously also a product of its time (itself a point for discussion).

 Reading is a wonderful thing, and I hope that some of the kids that walk away from my class do so having lost the conception that 'reading is not for them'. To my mind, it is just a matter of finding the right book...


(I should note - all the pictures I put on my white board are usually my poorly executed facsimiles of an image I liked from the web)

Element 270...

Some exciting news...

Several gamers here in Australia and myself have been planning a new podcast dedicated to Dystopian Wars, a fantastic miniatures game by Spartan Games.

  

While the idea started as just a podcast, we are excited to announce a multi-author blog, in addition to a podcast.  We're in the early stages at the moment, and it will be a few weeks before the podcast is launched, we have started work on what we hope will become an interesting blog site, and will eventually also be the home of our podcast - Element 270.

Each episode we will run through a couple of segments ranging through such topics as:

• Upcoming releases
• Nation backgrounds/setting
• Rumours
• Focus on a model/size class/area of the game/tactic/use of squadron etc
• Listener feedback and questions
• Scenario ideas, recommendations, suggestions
• Modelling segment - paints, painting, making terrain etc.
• Battle reports
• Web resource reviews/highlights
• Special guests

We're hoping that, over time, other fans of the game will jump in and consider becoming authors on Element 270, or submitting audio if they are so inclined.

You can find our fledgling site here, and rest assured, there will be plenty more coming along!

If you're a Dystopian Wars fan, or a fan of Armoured Clash or Dystopian Legions, and are interested in contributing, head to the About page on Element 270, and drop us a line!

Cheers, 

Giles.

Oh - and for those of you kind enough to ask about the other podcast I run with Donald Dennis: Games in Schools and Libraries - we ran into some troubles aligning our schedules with changes in times dues to day light savings and so on.  Happily, we have found a time we can both manage and still stay sane, we have a few episode recorded already, which will start going up again soon, and more importantly, we have a schedule... Happy times!

The Event...

Annually my school runs a Games Day.  I wrote a couple of weeks ago about the various game related programs we run, and that we were gearing up for our games day.  I'm very happy to declare that The Event has come and more sadly that it has passed.

Rock the Beat.

As exhausting and demanding as our Games Day can be it is also a wonderful experience.  Over the course of the day we have some 400 or so kids come through the hall - all engaged in the act of playing games.  The kids range in age from 4 to 12-13, and we also had young adult refugees from the Shepparton English Language Centre come across to join in.  A huge range of ages, needs, prior experiences and abilities.

Niagara.

Facilitating the day is a cadre of students we call the Games Ambassadors - mostly from my class of grade 3-4 students (ages roughly 7-9), they have the unenviable job of teaching and managing the games at the tables.  My personal feeling is that such a mentoring opportunity is great for leadership, empathy and a range of other skills - and wow was I impressed.  The Games Ambassadors rose to the challenge, managing to teach games to players with such a massive range of abilities is a daunting task for the average 7-9 year old, but what a job they did.

Kids of Carcassonne.

Some of the players had no English skills, many couldn't count, or spell, and yet all were engaged magnificently - a real tribute to the Ambassadors, a shining example of what anyone can achieve.  I was really taken with the way the Ambassadors slipped naturally into the role of mentors and teachers, these kids, on the fly and with prompting from me, were modifying game rules and in some cases making up wholly new games to suit the kids at their table (as well of course as teaching the games as they were meant to be played).

The Amazing Labyrinth.

Seeing older kids explaining patiently a game to a group of fidgety 4 year olds, seeing younger kids explain a game to a group of 18-25 year olds with very limited English, seeing everyone engaged and playing, laughing and having fun was surely one of the standout highlights of my year so far.  I cannot speak highly enough, or be more proud of my class and the other kids who volunteered to take on the role of Games Ambassadors.

Double Shutter.

I can't wait till our next Games Day!

CooCoo the Clown.

Jungle Speed.

Cheers,

Giles.

Games and School...

I've talked plenty of times about our school games club on the Games in Schools and Libraries podcast.  But for those who haven't listened (what are you waiting for? ;) ), at St Georges Primary School we run a variety of game events over the year.  Early next week we'll be running one of our annual games days (which I'll no doubt write about later), and on a weekly basis we also run an after school games club, in conjunction with the Smith Family - a charity that provides various types of assistance for families in need.

Some new games arrive in time for our games day...

The Smith Family here in Shepparton run a mixture of after school learning or homework clubs at a collection of schools.  Over the last two years we have worked with them to provide a games club, which has been a fantastic thing, catering for between 15 and 25 students.

Double Shutter...

Jungle Speed...

Firstly, games are about enjoyment; they are a form of participatory entertainment that engages people socially and mentally in a commonly defined activity.

CooCoo The Rocking Clown...

The Amazing Labyrinth...

Now, I'm obviously biased, but I think games are a great activity for kids and adults alike to participate in, because by their very nature they are a socially engaging thing, of course I also think they challenge players to think, to problem solve and to use a variety of other important skills whether that is adding points, spelling words or whatever.  But some of the most important experiences with games, for me at least, reside in the fact that they involve a range of players, who may or may not typically be friends, and encourages them to sit around a common activity, to plan together, to compete, to talk, and to generally interact.

Guess Who...

Piggy Back...

This term I've been particularly impressed, kids in the club are really delving into some of the games.  There is a group of kids who have fallen in love with Ticket to Ride, and I had the pleasure of playing a game with them the other week which turned out to be one of the best and most enjoyable games of it I have played.  The kids strategised, bluffed, smack-talked, encouraged each other and played a really good game.  It was a blast.  We've also been playing some whole group games of Wits and Wagers, Say Anything, Word on the Street and others... and they've been exhausting, but fun.

Enchanted Forest...

Poison...

I think any extra-curricula activity in a school is a good and positive thing, it encourages kids to find and engage with a hobby or passion, with a small group of people who can become something of a community around that shared activity.  Ours being a game based club it also encourages and provokes thought and a spirit (I hope) of fun.  All in all our games club has been a blast to be involved with.  Now to turn my focus to finalising the preparations for our games day... it should be fun!

Gobblet...

The Piggy Back pigs used in a dexterity contest...

Cheers,
Giles.

A day in the sun...

We spent the morning class in the garden planting seeds.  A fantastic morning.  Let me stop there and explain a little.  It’s been awhile since last I blogged about some of the happenings at my school.  This term our theme is science, a topic I much enjoy teaching, and that covers far too many areas for the time we allot to it.

One of the things we are doing as a part of our theme, aside from the more general joys of making light bulbs shine, balloons pop and volcanoes bubble, is planting vegetables, fruit and herbs in the school’s kitchen garden.

This pleasant little hide-away seems a world away from the typically poorly lit and stuffy classroom (and don’t get me wrong – I love my stuffy classroom).  It’s a small garden, with room for several large garden beds, many more smaller ones, fruit trees, a work shed, a chicken pen (currently on the lookout for tenants) and a nice bit of lawn.  It had spent a little while overgrown, but with the advent of our science theme, myself and the teachers in the middle section of the school were intent on getting our students out of the rooms and into the garden.

On the face of it this may not seem an academic pursuit, if your concept of education or the purpose of school is all about spelling patterns, phonographic knowledge, syntax, place value and renaming numbers you may well ask what the point of such a diversion is.  For me, the point is rather simple: it’s real.

That’s not to say that verb conjugation or decimal/fraction equivalencies aren’t real, or to slight or malign the importance of such things in the general scheme of education.  But there is a visceral, tactile, physical, and invigorating reality to burying your hands in soil to plant a seed, or watching a plant grow that you have tended that is immediate and apparent: it is directly experienced, not a thought experiment or conceptual framework.

Burying your hands in the garden is an experience that can be used as a basis for writing, or maths, or drawing or science, or any other subject for that matter.  It’s an experience that speaks to the kids about the nature of nature, about the science that describes the beautiful machinery of this world in which we live.  It’s an experience you can lay your hands on, you can succeed at and fail at and watch the results play out as a consequence.  It’s an experience that pours information to the brain through all our senses, the sights, smells, sensations and sounds.

I find gardens and such places cathartic, that’s not to say I’m an avid gardener; I avoid weeding wherever possible and can kill the hardiest of plants with seemingly little effort.  But I find the experience of nature, well, nature that isn’t trying to eat me, pleasant and refreshing.  Sitting in the warm shade while the leaves twitch in the breeze, suddenly starting, and then easing to calm as the breeze dies away, where insects crawl, fly, buzz, drone and wander about going on with their business oblivious of us idly observing, is a great environment for learning.

Yesterday we watched the moon occlude the disk of the sun, today we caught a gecko, and planted pumpkins and beans, basil and lettuce.  These are the moments I love as a teacher.

A poor photo of the eclipse - taken on my phone through protective glasses.

Pirates of the Spanish Main

Many moons ago, in the early days, when my board gaming was but a dalliance between roleplaying and table top games like DBA and Warhammer I found much to like in, what was then, a new and exciting game - Pirates of the Spanish Main.

This was a collectible/constructible card game, where the pirate ships were pieces stamped out of plastic cards (like credit cards) that one popped out and clipped together to make a little 3D ship.  The game was enjoyable, but also wildly unbalanced, and being of a collectible nature the imbalances in the ship powers, particularly as the number of different sets grew, forced players to continue buying more to stay in the ‘arms’ race.  I left it long ago for greener pastures, but kept my various ships and bits in a box in my classroom in case any kids wanted to play with them.

Since my days of playing this game passed by, the various plastic ships have been carted from school to school, from class-to-class.  Many have broken or fallen to pieces, and I didn’t lose much sleep over the matter.

In the last few weeks there have been a group of kids in my class that have shown a real interest in these ships, and not just playing with the ships, but playing the game.  Last week I worked my way through my box of Pirates of the Spanish Main, finding and putting back together the ships, matching them with ship cards and so on in an effort to build a basic set that can be boxed together and be played - and what’s more, provide a roughly balanced experience.

In the end I managed to salvage some 20 ships or so, and with various islands, treasure tokens, crew tokens and so on, they now sit apart, ready to be played.  We’ve had a couple of games so far, and the kids seem to really enjoy it.  The basic game: find treasures and sink your opponents, is simple, and because of it’s simplicity a lot of fun.  It’s still not the most balanced game in our school games collection, but it’s one that is enjoyable, easy to pick up and play, and exciting!

Seeing those pirate ships hauling-to across the table-top again after so many years of neglect and dry-docks is somewhat pleasing.  Hoist the Jolly Roger and chase down the treasure, and whether it be the crash of grape-shot through the mizzen or the clatter of dice on the table - the spirit of the Spanish Main is alive again.


And apparently there is a new card game due out soon based on the Pirates of the Spanish Main property, published by WizKids and designed by Bryan Kinsella and the Australian game designer Phil Harding... I shall have to investigate further...

Cheers,
Giles.

The Games in Schools and Libraries Podcast

Games in Schools and Libraries is a podcast by Donald Dennis and myself that covers all things to do with board games, card games and digital games, and the place they can find in schools or at the local library.  We’ve been busily recording episodes and posting them over at the Games for Educators website, but we’ve also had a fair share of technical glitches and difficulties that none of us (at Games in Schools and Libraries or Games for Educators) expected.

There were RSS problems, authentication issues, a lost episode (if you happen to spot an episode on the history of computer and digital games let us know!) and so on.  All in all it meant that our intended release schedule was interrupted, and that listeners were bound to have trouble finding us on iTunes, and subscribing via their favourite podcatcher (I use Downcast on my phone, and love it).

So this post is here to make the bold statement that these technical issues are done and over.  Our RSS seems to be working perfectly, and our podcast has (finally) been authenticated by iTunes - so you should be able to find it there in the next day or so.  Much thanks to Pat over at G4Ed for working solidly on the issue and getting it solved!

Episode 8 has just been posted, and all seems well with the world.

So here are some quick links and information on the state of our show so far:

Our RSS can be found here.
Our page on Games for Educators can be found here.
Our guild on BGG can be found here.
Our website (bare bones at the moment) can be found here.

If you punch our RSS address into your podcatcher of choice, you should be able to see our episode list, this is what we’ve covered so far...


Episode 0 - Welcome and Introduction - Don and I introduce ourselves personally and professionally, and talk about what we hope GSL will grow in to.

Episode 1 - Board Games - A short discussion on the modern era of board games.

Episode 2 - Digital games - The lost episode, we shall not speak of it...

Episode 3 - What Makes a Good Game - In which we consider some of the aspects of games that make them solid choices for schools or libraries, including durability, easy set-up and play etc.

Episode 4 - Considering Rules- In which we talk about how the rules of a game can make a game more or less suitable for a school or library environment - as well as some of the things we look for in games.

Episode 5 - Game Spaces - In which we discuss making a space ready for playing games, as well as some of the physical considerations worth taking note of (at least in our experiences).

Episode 6 - Themes - Part 1 - Can themes help make a game easier to digest? We talk about themes that tie into curriculum or topics, and how games can be used as a window to a subject.

Episode 7 - Themes - Part 2 - What themes aren't suitable for a school/library setting.  What are some of the things worth considering when getting a game for such a setting.

Episode 8 - Accessibility - In which we discuss physical accessibility issues, from games with kids to physical disability to colour blindness, games that have a high reliance on written text or even where card/board text is too small.


So that is Games in Schools and Libraries so far, we hope that people find it a useful and interesting podcast, and occasionally entertaining as well.  We have a collection of other topics already recorded, and a list of those we have yet to record.  If you have any comments or feedback - we’d love to hear it! Comment here, in the guild on BGG or over at G4Ed - or drop us an email (schoolsandlibraries@gmail.com).

Cheers,

Giles.

Games in Schools and Libraries

Announcing ‘Games in Schools and Libraries’, THE show about board, card and digital games, and the ways in which they can find a place in the classroom or at the local library.

Donald Dennis (from the wonderful On Board Games podcast) and myself are the hosts of Games in Schools and Libraries (GSL).  Don is the young adult games and technology librarian for Georgetown county SC, and I am a teacher at St Georges Rd Primary School in Shepparton, Victoria.  

In Games and Schools and Libraries, Don and I review and talk about specific games we’ve used in our respective settings, but each episode is also themed around a particular topic.  So far we’ve recorded shows on story telling games, spatial games, game themes (and more) and we have a huge list of topics we want to cover in future episodes. We hope the listening is as enjoyable as the recording has been!

Our mission with the Games in Schools and Libraries podcast is to provide a short podcast dealing with the various issues and potentials of providing and running game based programs in libraries and schools.  The podcast will seek to inform, inspire and generate conversation around the use of games as a medium for socialisation, interaction, communication and education.  This also gives an indication as to why we are partnering up with the fantastic Games for Educators website.  These are lofty goals to be sure, but with all the podcasts out there covering the wonderful world of board, card and digital games we hoped there might be room for one more with a specific goal in mind.

The release schedule for the next month or so is designed to quickly build up a level of content.  In the next week you’ll hear 3 episodes go live - one introducing ourselves and the show, one covering board games and the last discussing digital games.  Beyond that we’ll fall back to a weekly schedule of releases for a month or two, and then back again to a fortnightly release schedule.  While this might seem scatalogical (and probably quite rightly), the aim is for us to get a quantity of content out there in the short term, and then ease back into what will be our intended rhythm (that is a show that goes out fortnightly).


If you have any questions or comments you will be able to find us over at the Games for Educators website, where the inestimable Pat has been kind enough to host our show.  You will also be able to find us in our guild over on boardgamegeek, here.  Alternatively we have an email address which we announce on our show, and we’d love to read any and all feedback.

Don and I are excited about Games in Schools and Libraries, and we hope you find it as interesting and useful as we have found it enjoyable!


Cheers,
Giles.

Oh - and you can find the feed here.

Once Upon A Time...

Once Upon A Time is a story-telling game published by Atlas Games, and designed by Richard Lambert, Andrew Rilstone and James Wallis.

In Once Upon a Time players each have a hand of cards, representing items, characters, places and other things.  The object of the game is to collectively create a story, and in so doing get rid of the cards in your hand.  For each sentence a player may play one card from their hand - so I might begin with: Once upon a time there was a tower hidden in the depths of a dark forest. As I say this sentence I play a card from my hand - the tower card.  I am allowed to continue telling the story and playing cards unless another player takes over (and there are rules for this).  Players also each have a single ‘ending’ card in hand - which is the story ending they are personally angling to manipulate the story into.

It is a simple game, almost loose enough to be deemed more of an activity than a game.  But it can be a lot of fun, and the zany stories that rise from the game can be quite amusing - especially with a group of creative individuals.

I’ve been using it recently as a starting activity in class - something that precedes a creative writing session.  My class is 27 students - so playing by the normal rules won’t work.  What we’ve been doing instead is this: each student has a hand of three cards, I draw their names randomly, as their name is drawn they must add a single sentence to the story at the same time as playing one of their cards.  We do this for a set time - say 15 minutes, and the students go back to their books and take up the incomplete tale from there - each continuing and finishing the story as they see fit.

It has been a lot of fun so far - and provides a welcome aid to creativity.  The stories are fun and zany. It is equally interesting to see the differences in how the stories unfold as the individual students take over in their books.

There are many ways in which this game can be used in class - and the students (so far) are really enjoying it.  The need to tailor the story to the cards makes for just enough confinement to make the stories crazy and amusing, but the cards are also loose enough to allow for a great deal of creativity and control.  A great little game.

For a cheap game - this has been a great addition to our school game collection.  I’m adding it as one of the possible writing activities to my literacy rotations - a happily ever after indeed!

Cheers,
Giles.

Podcasting, Games, Schools and Libraries

One of the reasons my blog has been a little slow this last two weeks (aside from the black pall that had been hanging over me in the form of reports) is that Donald Dennis (of On Board Games fame) and myself have been pushing to finalise some aspects of a new podcast we are recording together about, and aptly named: Games in Schools and Libraries.

The podcast mission statement is all about creating a show that highlights and discusses various aspects of games as they apply to schools and the local library.    We aim to cover board, card and digital games.

As the date of our official launch draws near (and we’ll likely be dropping several introductory episodes in quick succession before falling back to a more stately release schedule), we are in the throes of finishing off all those little odds and jobs that need doing.

Of course, as we get closer we’ll be making a more detailed and official announcement.  Still, until then it is editing, editing and more editing (we have a bank of episodes recorded).  More in the near future...


In the meantime, here are some shots of the games cupboards in my classroom:

Cheers,

Giles.

Breadth of experience

Living, as I have, a life largely free of the verisimilitude of ills that exist in this world, it is an interesting and humbling experience to work in a job that puts me in contact with such a breadth of life experiences.  Any teacher will be able to rattle off a list of personal tragedies and harrowing life experiences they have encountered in their time.  It is a simple truth that for every statistic one reads or hears about in terms of tragedy, abuse or ill-chance, one will encounter more of those personal contexts the more people one interacts with.  

It is certainly humbling to consider that these depths of experience have been a part of the life journeys of the children, as young as they are, that I teach, have taught, or know.

With Mother’s Day a focus of late I had cause to stop and consider what this may mean for any given person.  Any class of 25 or so children represents 25 or so different sets of life experiences.  Some wonderful, supportive and affirming, some tinged with tragedy, some darkened by abuse, illness or some other force.  The sum life experiences of any class runs the gamut.  From refugees who have seen family members killed or worse, to kids who live with loving parents that support and affirm them.  There are children who have lived through terror and darkness the likes of which I cannot fathom, and kids who have never had the unlucky chance of encountering such things.  Kids whose lives have been irrevocably transformed by illness, death, abuse or tragedy.  Kids who arrive in the class from stable homes, from abusive homes, from never knowing one or other of their parents.  I can only imagine how confronting and emotionally draining encountering such experiences is for nurses, welfare agents and so on.

Any class (or more correctly - group of people) may represent such a wide breadth of tragic or varied life experience.  As much as the tragedy sticks most easily in our minds it is as equally important to consider those positive experiences.  The notes tucked hidden in lunch boxes, hugs given, reading listened to, work marvelled at, art on fridge doors, the love and nurturing, the education and gentle admonition.  

Mothers Day (and all such days) can mean many things, and can draw upon and tap into a range of life experiences, from the negative to the positive.  For all the variability, for all the differences, for all the adversities, if you have family or friends that love, support and affirm you, you are, as the old saying goes, wealthy.

Cheers,
Giles.

Playing in Common

There are times, as a teacher, when something happens that makes you feel like dancing around the room, playing rock ballads and accompanying them with exaggerated air-guitar, drinking in the glorious sunshine on even the dullest of days and generally revelling in the glory to be found in the mind-boggling machinery of our enormous universe.

Usually this happens when we feel that through some stroke of good luck, timing and work we have managed to make some scratch of difference to how a student sees or feels about themselves and the potentials.  

Earlier this week I had such a moment - when a group of students from our school; students who have been a part of our games program this year, took arm fulls of games over to the language centre attached to our school campus and taught and played games.

A small thing perhaps: the teaching and playing of games.  To give some scrap of credibility to my general feelings of excitement and elation I should perhaps give some context to these things.  The students from our school were a mixture of ages - from grades three through to five, meaning a mix of ages from 8-11.  The language centre, the Shepparton English Language Centre (SELC), is an educational facility that supports the needs of newly arrived families and refugees, teaching them English, among other skills.  

The group from SELC playing games were a mixture of mainly African, Iraqi, Iranian, and Afghani (the majority were Afghani) students.  They are high school kids and older - from around 16-25 years old.  All of them have newly arrived in Australia, many from extremely violent and horrific circumstances, most have experienced extreme trauma and the very worst our species is capable of.  I am not exaggerating.

The games our students took to play were selected on the basis that they were easy to explain, engaging to play, and language independent.  So we had kids aged 8-11, teaching games to young adults who have never had the chance to ‘play’ in their lives, who do not speak English, and who were taught through signing, gestures, smiles and nods.

It was a huge success.  The SELC students had a blast, and while the ability to communicate through language was absent, there was many a game played, much laughter, and plenty of enjoyment.  It was something nice in and of itself: to have such an eclectic mix of cultures from such traumatic backgrounds able to sit together and lose themselves in fun.  It was also something special for those 8-11 year olds - the real leaders and teachers, the real reason for the success of the afternoon - to have such a demanding and different experience, but one which was also much fun.  They came bustling back into classroom afterwards, full of stories of when Elaf had done this, or when Mohammed had done that, but also talking with each other about how they had managed to get across this meaning, or that rule with nothing more than smiles, nods and gestures.  It was a huge learning experience, and an enjoyable one.

We hope this will become a regular thing - I’d be more than happy to play air-guitar again in future - here’s to many more!

Some of the games played:

Animal upon Animal - HABA

Blokus - Hasbro

Blokus 3D - Hasbro

Chicken Cha Cha Cha - Rio Grande Games

FITS - Ravensburger

Halli Galli - Rio Grande Games

Jenga - Hasbro

Make 'n' Break - Ravensburger

Spooky Stairs - HABA

and probably some I have forgotten!




Cheers,


Giles.