In a world which is constantly developing, why do teachers continue to rely on teacher-directed instruction and textbooks that smell as old as they look? In the post, We need more "Junk" in the Classroom, from the blog, TeachPaperless, the blogger made a significant point about incorporating tangible materials and activities in the classroom. While at the museum, the bloggers children were engaged with hands-on activities that fostered creativity, imagination, and was extremely engaging. He had a hard time pulling his children away to see the rest of the museum. Now if only teachers could enhance lessons that we had a hard time pulling our students away, now that would be a great success.
When referring to "Junk" in the classroom, teachers often take fore-granted items that seem irrelevant to us, when they actually foster critical thinking, problem solving, and imagination. Students may look at old clocks, train collections, and old camera and become engaged and interested in learning it's story. Let children play and touch these objects that may mean nothing to you. To them, it may be the coolest thing they've ever seen.
