| | Before Dec. 20, 2006, perhaps 1 percent of the world's population knew the word tsunami. I was one of the ignorant ones. I remember being with my nephew Bill after Christmas. He said we should pray for the victims of the tsunami, and I marveled that he knew how to pronounce a word that I had not known until I read that day's newspaper headlines.
Even those 1 percent usually did not know what the word really meant. A few English 10 year olds were the exception, because in early Dec. their teacher, had taught it to them. He showed a video clip of survivors of a tsunami that occurred in Hawaii in the 1950s and drew a diagram on the board that his students copied into their exercise books. A girl name tilly Smith was in that class.
Two weeks later, Tilly was on Maikhao Beach in Phuket, Thailand, with her parents and her 7 year old sister. Suddenly, the tide went out, leaving a wide stretch of sand where the ocean had been . Most tourists stood gawking at the disappearing ocean, but Tillly grabbed her mother's hand : "Mummy, we must get off the beach now. I think there's going to be a tsunami."
Tilly's parents alerted other holiday makers nearby, then raced to tell their hotel staff in Phuket. The hotel swiftly evacuated Maikhao Beach, and minutes later a huge wave crashed onto the sand, sweeping all before it. Incredibly, the beach was oneof the few in Phuket where no one was killed or seriously injured.
Tilly and her family are alive today for many reasons. She remembered what she had learned; her parents listened to her; higher ground was nearby. But some of the credit goes to her teacher, who did not just list tsunami as a vocabulary word but taught it with examples and activities that gave it meaning.
This is a story of a miracle, or at least of good fortune, and of the mindof a child. Tilly was ready to learn and remember, as are all 10 year olds, as long as knowledge is concrete, with examples and active participation. Her teacher knew that. THis is not just good fortune, but also good education.
Berger, The Developing Person, Worth, 7 ed., pg 382. |
| | Posted 10/29/2006 12:24 AM - 12 Views - 0 eProps - 0 comments
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