Recollections of the TSM After School Academy
by Dr. Maureen Clemmons
The gauntlet was thrown. Ivor issued a strong challenge to teach children after school using a vehicle that captured their curiosity — space. Kids are all fearless adventurers at heart, and if the Traveling Space Museum could somehow get them into space, for even an afternoon, they would lend their attention.
Ivor’s curricula was intimidating. Cuneiform? Space? How the heck was I supposed to teach ancient languages and keep their attention? To make it worse, I also had on my agenda: Culture, basic Latin, and nonverbal communication. How was I supposed to keep anybody interested in nonverbal communication? And Latin? Gimme a break. Latin is a dead language, as dead as dead can be. First it killed the Romans, and now it’s killing me.
Anyway, Ivor wouldn’t let me out. These were important lessons, so he challenged us to teach in a manner that had the kids retain their learning. All bets were off.
I showed up for class, and these kids had HIGH expectations. They had already spent weeks with some awesome teachers, and they expected the same from Patrick Fahey and myself. When they showed up (on time, I might add), they even wanted to bring friends. So, Patrick and I dove in. I told them they were going to learn the alphabet. Well, you could just see disappointment in everyone’s face. They already knew the alphabet. After all, they were well past first grade.
Everything changed when I switched out of my lab coat and into the regalia of a reigning pharaoh. The eyes got huge, and murmurs of excitement rippled through the class. I dug out papyrus-type paper and pens, and we reviewed the basic alphabet in hieroglyphs. Everybody then got to create their own cartouche with their name. They did not want to stop. “Can I do my last name, too?” “Can I do my brother’s name also?”
Ancient languages taught in ancient style costumes
The next challenge was to pry them out of ancient Egypt and travel to Mesopotamia to write in cuneiform. Clay was handed out, as were styli. The kids had to write their name in clay using the cuneiform alphabet.
Now the class was in high form. Kids were all over the room looking at each other’s tablets. I was starting to panic. Kids were exited, animated, and everywhere. “Sit down” became my mantra. Pharaoh then changed into a Hebrew scholar to introduce the Hebrew alphabet. We made scrolls. Wahoo. I learned that scrolls are fun, and next time to bring more colors of ribbons. Then the real fun started. We got to learn the Greek alphabet and carve our names into soap, just as the Greeks carved their alphabet into stone tablets.
Finally, we went to space. They were introduced to the universal symbols of astronomy, and they created their own galactic alphabet. Whew. Day one was done.
The next two days resulted in a similar amount of energy when we learned sign language, body language, and culture. We completed the session as amateur anthropologists as we watched (and analyzed) the nonverbal communication evidenced in a Star Trek Next Generation video “A Matter of Honor.”
I discovered that Ivor’s dream of tapping into a kid’s sense of adventure created an environment where the kids were eager to learn. I also learned that cuneiform wasn’t so bad after all.
reprinted by permission of O. C. Space, Larry Evans, Publisher
by Dr. Maureen Clemmons
The gauntlet was thrown. Ivor issued a strong challenge to teach children after school using a vehicle that captured their curiosity — space. Kids are all fearless adventurers at heart, and if the Traveling Space Museum could somehow get them into space, for even an afternoon, they would lend their attention.
Ivor’s curricula was intimidating. Cuneiform? Space? How the heck was I supposed to teach ancient languages and keep their attention? To make it worse, I also had on my agenda: Culture, basic Latin, and nonverbal communication. How was I supposed to keep anybody interested in nonverbal communication? And Latin? Gimme a break. Latin is a dead language, as dead as dead can be. First it killed the Romans, and now it’s killing me.
Anyway, Ivor wouldn’t let me out. These were important lessons, so he challenged us to teach in a manner that had the kids retain their learning. All bets were off.
I showed up for class, and these kids had HIGH expectations. They had already spent weeks with some awesome teachers, and they expected the same from Patrick Fahey and myself. When they showed up (on time, I might add), they even wanted to bring friends. So, Patrick and I dove in. I told them they were going to learn the alphabet. Well, you could just see disappointment in everyone’s face. They already knew the alphabet. After all, they were well past first grade.
Everything changed when I switched out of my lab coat and into the regalia of a reigning pharaoh. The eyes got huge, and murmurs of excitement rippled through the class. I dug out papyrus-type paper and pens, and we reviewed the basic alphabet in hieroglyphs. Everybody then got to create their own cartouche with their name. They did not want to stop. “Can I do my last name, too?” “Can I do my brother’s name also?”
Ancient languages taught in ancient style costumes
The next challenge was to pry them out of ancient Egypt and travel to Mesopotamia to write in cuneiform. Clay was handed out, as were styli. The kids had to write their name in clay using the cuneiform alphabet.
Now the class was in high form. Kids were all over the room looking at each other’s tablets. I was starting to panic. Kids were exited, animated, and everywhere. “Sit down” became my mantra. Pharaoh then changed into a Hebrew scholar to introduce the Hebrew alphabet. We made scrolls. Wahoo. I learned that scrolls are fun, and next time to bring more colors of ribbons. Then the real fun started. We got to learn the Greek alphabet and carve our names into soap, just as the Greeks carved their alphabet into stone tablets.
Finally, we went to space. They were introduced to the universal symbols of astronomy, and they created their own galactic alphabet. Whew. Day one was done.
The next two days resulted in a similar amount of energy when we learned sign language, body language, and culture. We completed the session as amateur anthropologists as we watched (and analyzed) the nonverbal communication evidenced in a Star Trek Next Generation video “A Matter of Honor.”
I discovered that Ivor’s dream of tapping into a kid’s sense of adventure created an environment where the kids were eager to learn. I also learned that cuneiform wasn’t so bad after all.
reprinted by permission of O. C. Space, Larry Evans, Publisher