Your children should learn from the best    059

Children always enjoy seeing a new teacher walk into the classroom. Perhaps this teacher is a casual or replacement, or perhaps a visiting teacher. Children can become sick of the teachers they have, and when the new teacher is someone with very special and very recognisable expertise then the children’s response is magnetic and extremely productive. I recall that at one particular school, and on one day of the week, children were taught dancing by someone who was a professional dancer in a ballet company. In one lesson this dancer could accomplish the work of four or five lessons from the children’s normal teachers. The children responded enthusiastically and performed movements of which their teachers thought they were incapable.

These are the types of teachers which your child should seek out. Strangely, they are far more available than you might think. Suppose your child is in Year 12, and having trouble writing introductions to essays, as many children do. Why not read and then study the introductions written, under HSC exam conditions, by the very best English students. Indeed sets of exam answers have been published by the Board of Studies. Looking at seven or so of these champion introductions it seems that best format is 3-4 sentences, totalling about 90 words. That’s a very good starting point for your child.

Essay conclusions can be another problem area. Nearly all children understand that they must restate the main points and put in nothing new. But some can do much better than just this. Consider a piece of music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Rondo alla Aturca, Piano Sonata No. 11 in A major. The piece develops variations on recurring themes. From the English writing perspective however it is the conclusion of the piece which is most instructive. Mozart does restate the themes but in a shortened and different way so that their character is particularly illuminated. It is an intensification of the musical power of the whole piece. At the very end of the conclusion are musical statements which indicate clearly that the end has been reached—is a type of celebratory grand finale. All in all it is a magnificent piece of creativity from which your child can gain considerable instructive benefit. The music itself is instantly available on the Internet in many forms.

Such creative power is also available in any famous novel. Consider for example the well known conclusion to Dickens’s novel, A Tale of Two Cities (1859): “It is a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done: it is a far, far better rest that I go to than I have ever known.” The very best not only suggest directions and methods of improvement; it should also inspire higher levels of creativity. So make all these experiences available to children, in as many areas as possible.

All content copyright—Mark Thackray—Australian Educational Services