Help! talking to my daughter tonight at bedtime I learned about the doodle police... think 1984... Orwell... mind control ...Yikes! Apparently in her science class at school they are required to take the Doodling Police Pledge at the beginning of the school year....yep, just learning about this now!
So... the jist of it is ... something like this....right hand on heart, left hand in air " I promise to be a doodle police and watch for people ... even my best friends ... doodling. I will tell the teacher if I see anyone doodling on anything. I also will not doodle"
I am in shock... speechless ... has this teacher not read the current literature on doodling... does she not know about Gardner and Multiple Intelligences??? I decided to google doodling and learning styles to see what I might find... pages of information SUPPORTING doodling!
This was a fantastic post from Think
How often do you find yourself receiving confused looks as you mindlessly doodle through an important meeting?
Doodling is often seen as an irrelevant act with no strategic value making the doodler appear disinterested in the task at hand. However for many with pen and paper at hand it is an unavoidable habit. A recent study by Jackie Andrade from the University of Plymouth has concluded that the act of doodling can improve information recall.
The study recruited participants without prior warning who had just attended another unrelated session. It was assumed they would be in a heightened state of boredom due to an implied expectation of going home.
Participants were then asked to listen to a tape they were told was boring. They were told not to remember anything but to write down the names of those attending the party (as discussed in the tape). Half of participants were told to colour in doodles while the other half were instructed to not doodle. Those in the doodle group recalled 29% more information on a surprise memory test than the non-doodlers.
The conclusion was made that doodling can aid in keeping the brain alert in seemingly boring situations allowing greater information retention while those who do not doodle are more likely to drift off in other ways taking concentration away from the task at hand.
Doodling takes little energy and allows your brain to maintain concentration for more important issues.
So next time you’re in a meeting and you find yourself nodding off, doodle
help! How would you approach a teacher with this approach to teaching??? I'd love any advice you have!
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10 comments:
Oh my goodness! I would just go in and talk to the teacher! It's one thing to ask the kids to tattle if they see someone doodling on the desk or a school owned book but to ask them to turn in a friend drawing little pictures on her own notes! WHERE HAS THE SUPPORT FOR THE INDIVIDUAL GONE, AND THE SUPPORT FOR THE ARTS!!!
I say bring all the supporting literature with you.
There is something seriously wrong with asking kids to become doodle police! (maybe even ask if she's read 1984)
Maybe she just means on work the kids are going to turn in...final copies? I would print the article and mail it to her. :)
OMG, Kristen! I'm outraged! I doodled all my life and my dad did too... I believe it's what helps form our personalities. My kids doodle constantly too and I am always so happy to see them choose drawing over TV or other things. Is it just her teacher or is it a school-wide thing? It sounds like you should talk to the principal if it's a school-wide thing. Otherwise, bring your research materials to the teacher right away so this gets nipped in the bud. I'm off to ask Sophie about this... I will just DIE if this is happening in her school too! Sorry to hear about this. :(
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OMG............I would die....Can you imagine the things that are invented or created with just doodling. This is absolutly crazy. I would have to find out if this is school wide or just this class and take it from there but this is totally ridiculous. DOn't we want our kids to use there imaginations anymore. HELLO?????
I have to comment on this one. I am a retired home ec. teacher...22years of teaching high school and jr high home ec. This is an unfair request of the children. Is this school wide? I would ask the school wide question first. If not a school wide pledge, please approach the teacher. I can see the concern for doodling allover an assignment and making it unreadable, but otherwise who cares. I too was a doodler and did it to keep from dozing off in a boring setting. I have taken a class by Gardner on MI. You are right to be concerned about a snitch pledge. I cannot imagine asking my students to promise to tattle on their friends....tattling is a 1st grade behavior and most teachers try to teach their students to stop tattling on their peers. Good luck on this one. Is teacher a man or a woman? Just curious.
my true feeling............if the students are needing to 'doodle' to keep awake-------she (teacher) needs to reevaluate her teaching style. nothing ticks me off more than thinking of my kiddos sitting in a classroom truly BORED----having been a kindygarden/1st grade teacher, there wasn't enough time in my class to get bored!!! i surely believe you need to ask around to other parents first, then go to the teacher as a concerned group of parents. this way your daughter doesn't get singled out by others (including the teacher). if you don't get anywhere with this step then rightly so make your way up the rungs of the ladder.....principal, supt, etc......... Silly, I say, just SILLY!!
Good heavens! Can teachers really do this? Since my children were old enough to talk, they've been told We Do Not Tell Tales In This House. It's hard enough to teach them the subtle difference between reporting something to a grownup because it's hurtful and needs to be stopped, and tale-telling, without having the message undermined at school. I'd be making an appointment to see her pronto!
Thanks for the post......
I wouldn't have made it a day in that science class. I think she will enjoy hearing what you have to day.
Have a great week!
You may want to purchase a book for this teacher:
The Boy on Fairfield Street, by Kathleen Krull. It is about Ted Geisel's (aka Dr. Suess) childhood. Like Bill Peet, he would doodle and was misunderstood. Thank goodness for wise mothers who nurture their children's talents!
Wow....exactly what are they teaching kids to "inform" on one another...bizarre and scary. I also doodle and always doodled during meetings...it helped me focus on what was being said...especially if it was a boring meeting. It also helped me form my own ideas and counterpoints. I especially think if one is a creative person it is just how we think. I hope you were able to get that across to the "science" teacher.
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