What "Charlie Goes to Candy Mountain" Has Taught Me
So, it’s the end of the semester, and even though I wouldn’t say I’m feeling nostalgic, I am looking back at the writing course I taught, “Technology and Identities” with as critical an eye as possible. This was the first time in teaching the course that I felt total student engagement with the material we covered, their areas of interest, and the tech we used. It was also the first time I taught the class without a “fixed” syllabus.
Typically, I go into a class with a set number, type, and pattern of reading. The structure allows for particular kinds of conversations and teaching (pedagogical, for those in the field) practices. This semester, I tried a fluid approach. So, if during the course of conversation, students wanted to discuss “Charlie the Unicorn Goes to Candy Mountain,”
I let them. I pulled up the video on YouTube, I played it, then engaged them in conversation about it.
The first time I watched the video, they were more entertained by my response (open-mouthed silence) than the video itself. My initial shock came from the fact that my student who recommended it, heard about it from her 10–year-old brother. Apparently the video had been making the rounds in middle school and all the rage with the almost-tweeners. But the video also led us into conversation about age-appropriate content, peer pressure, mass graves in Matamoros, and the dangers of Spring Break. Don’t even ask.
A few of the things I learned from this lesson:
1. have a general plan, but be flexible
2. rather than focusing only on the message you want to get across, be attuned to your audience and what they need; this will clue you in on how to communicate your message in a manner that makes sense for/to them.
3. don’t be afraid to relinquish some control to get what you need. When my students asked (in chorus) to watch the video, I acquiesced because I already had the most important thing: their interest.
4. YouTube isn’t just for entertainment. Follow up with questions to them. By asking my student what about the video interested her 10–year-old brother and his friends, I was able to a) turn the video into a lesson, and b) position the topics discussed as possible research assignments for them. This class yielded 3 research papers (out of 18) on the influence of technology (educational, video games) in learning and child development.
Are there lessons to learn for business? I think so. Flexibility in plan and a willingness to move with the audience can yield creative ideas, generate excitement and energy about your message, and help spawn future projects.
