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It’s hard out there for a teacher in today’s entertainment driven society. How do I teach boring science to kids that are constantly inundated with television and video games? The answer?
Edutainment!
I’m not going to lie: I cringed a little while typing that. On principle, I think that people should be in control of themselves. If I am tasked with learning the Krebs cycle, boring or not, I need to suck it up and learn the Krebs cycle! But then I begin to look back at the things that got me so interested in science that I am now willing to trudge through some of the boring stuff. I use to watch the crap out of some animal documentaries! If you don’t think those are edutainment pieces, check out this post by @herpetologyguy, and you’ll realize just how scripted they are. Mr. Wizard was a little bit before my time, but my butt was planted in front of the tv for Bill Nye! I was drawn to science largely through edutainment.
The idea of educating through entertainment is not new. Even way back in the 1700s, Ben Franklin engaged and educated readers of his Poor Richard’s Almanac with puzzles and funny adages. However, it was most likely Dr. Chris Daniels who coined the term “edutainment” back in 1975 as a part of his idea for what is now called The Elysian World Project, which starts out pretty cool (an edutainment based theme park) but quickly escelates into some kind of creepy plot for world domination! No, seriously… it gets creepy. Today, edutainment has found a brand new niche in television and cinema. There are entire television networks devoted to educational entertainment that cemented their place in Americana by airing programs like Mythbusters, Dirty Jobs, The Crocodile Hunter, and an entire week out of each year dedicated to sharks. I dare say that there is not a person reading this who doesn’t recognize at least one of those shows. The evidence is there: edutainment works. So, why wouldn’t I use it in my classroom?
Steemit In The Classroom?
This is something that I’ve been thinking about, lately. As a teacher, I try my best to keep my personal life out of the classroom for the most part. I never planned on sharing a personal blog with my students; however, my Steemit blog has evolved into more of a photography/edutainment blog that I wouldn’t have a problem sharing with my class. In today’s public education system, teachers are pretty much committed to what the state frameworks tell us to teach. There is very little time to deviate from the schedule, lest we run out of time in the year before covering all of the topics that students will be tested over. Thankfully, Steemit is here to help! One of the cool things about this platform is that it is open on the web. I can post links to articles that I think my students will find edutaining on my teacher web page and give them the opportunity to see some cool things that we don’t have time for in class! I honestly can’t believe it took me this long to figure it out; it makes perfect sense. Not only will I be able to broaden my students’ horizons by introducing them to entertaining sciency stuff that we otherwise wouldn’t be able to do, but it will also bring more exposure to the Steemit platform and specifically my Steemit blog. Granted, 7th graders should only have an account at their parents’ discretion; but if my posts are truly edutaining, students will go home saying “look what Mr. Maxwell showed us, today!” Posts will end up being shared by students and parents alike on other platforms like Facebook and Twitter. It’s what Michael Scott refers to as a win-win-win. So, I’m going to give it a try, and I’ll keep you updated on how it goes. Stay tuned!
Thanks for reading today’s article! If you enjoyed it, maybe you would like to check out some of my other recent content:
If you've ever wondered where flies sleep at night, check out Dosing Diptera
Ever seen a wasp mantidfly? Check it out here
I am almost finished with a 3 part series about the deadly daddy long legs (Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3)
Read my rant about the confusion between venomous and poisonous organisms
Or, for a change of pace, you can get my take on how the public school system in America has destroyed the value of a high school diploma