teaching: the cowboy way
DESCRIPTION
Teaching: The Cowboy way. Presented by: Dr. Randy Esters. The Esters Family. Where is Home: Louisiana. Opportunity Education. Home Sweet Home. Hobbies. Sam , Preston, me and Rocky the Bluetick Coonhound. Spending time with friends. Church Family. Southern words. - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
Presented by: Dr. Randy Esters
TEACHING: THE COWBOY WAY
The Esters Family
Where is Home: Louisiana
Home Sweet Home
Opportunity Education
Hobbies
Sam , Preston, me and Rocky the Bluetick Coonhound
Spending time with friends
Church Family
Ya’ll – you all: everyone Ya’ll want to learn something today?
Fixin - about to: preparing to do something We are fixin to get started.
Southern words
Goals of this presentation To model effective strategies
Demonstrate parallels between cowboys and teachers
To give participants tools for teaching To impart a little “cowboy wisdom” to
each of you
What is a cowboy?•Men who tended the herd•Who were rough and tough•But reliable•Trustworthy•Respectful•Courageous•Sometimes, mean as a snake•Sometimes, gentle as a lamb
What is a Cowboy? Wear long sleeves and a hat to protect
them from the elements Love what they love completely If they have fear, they never
show it Say what they mean and
mean what they say
Parallels to Teachers? Teachers tend the children We are rough and tough• But reliable• Trustworthy• Respectful• Courageous• Sometimes, mean as a snake• Sometimes, gentle as a lamb
Parallels to Teachers? We do not have clothes to protect us from
the elements but we develop ways to protect ourselves from the outside world
If we have fear we never show it We say what we mean and mean what
we say
Cowboy Wisdom
Part 1Strategies for Training a
Cowboys’ Best Friend: The Horse
DisclaimerChildren are NOT horses: This is an
analogy not a comparison
Types of Horses
The Show Horse: All show and no go
Race Horses: Always in a hurry and hard to control
Draft Horses: Slow and steady
Cow Horse: Smart, Agile and ready to work
Don’t you wish this were all of
them? OOOHHHH
NO!!! there’s more
Mean horse: mad at the world
Sweet Horses
Big and Little horses
Even horses we train to buck
All shapes, sizes and talents: All horses are individuals
There are no Perfect Horses
Discussion Ticket #1 – What is a “good” child
You must have trust and respect
What are signs of horse trust and respect ?
Child trust and respect ?
Have a controlled Environment to begin
Finish with freedom and exploration
Real world applications
Exaggerate to Teach Over teach a concept or skill. Repetition
and consistent lessons Is the horse ready to learn the lesson: Is
the lesson developmentally appropriate for the child
Short but intense lessons Horse lessons shouldn’t last more than 5
seconds: Child lessons 1 minute for every year of life up to 18.
Lessons should have meaning Lessons should be intense and intentional Begin with the end in mind Lessons must build on each other
Communicate exactly what you expect
The horse must clearly understand what you are asking it to do
People must understand the goal as well You must have their full attention before
you can communicate You can not say one thing and
demonstrate another Fear and mistrust have bad results
Provide praise All people want to be praised Make certain the praise is specific and
timely Be generous but real
Discussion Ticket 2 – talk to a friend and write down as many praise words as you can think of.
Horses give to pressure You can not force a 500 KG horse to do
ANYTHING! Old cowboy saying “ you can lead a horse
to water but you can’t make it drink” The horse must want to be cooperative The more you struggle against it the
more resistant it will be There is a difference in Breaking and
Training
Pressures all people give to
Horses have a dominant side
They will always point the dominant ear when the start to pay attention
It takes work to help them switch sides to be mounted if its not their natural side
Brain Dominance We should be right or left handed, legged,
eyed and earedOur eyes and ears should follow the hand
Effect of Cross Dominance Emotionality – easy to anger or thrill , slow to calm
down Cognitively controlled by stress – ie….blank out at
test time Remember trivial details but forgets the “big
picture” Disorganized – loses things easily. Great at getting
things started , not good at seeing them through.
Usually an “idea” person Many of us learn to compensate. It is simply more
difficult to be structured
A horse must be moving to learn You can not teach a lesson- other than to break
its spirit – to a still horse When you get it moving you must:
Know what you want it to know (state objectives) Tell it that it is about to be given an action (prepare the
learner) Example: “you are going to prepare to stop when I shift
forward” Over teach the lesson
Stop and let it think about what it just learned (review and reflect)
How long should a lesson be?
Movement Produces endorphins “natural mood
enhancers” Breaks up the lesson into chunks Increases the capacity and number of
blood vessels, allowing for the delivery of oxygen, water, and glucose to the brain
Uses “restless” energy
Horses like games Horses and kids learn best when they
think they are playing
Part 2
The Life of a Cowboy
Young cowboys learned by teaching
The old cowboys would show a youngster something then get
them to teach each other. They would practice together
and help each other
Stories and songs Cowboys used songs and stories to pass
their history and experiences down because they were easy to remember
We can use stories and songs in the classroom.
Cowboys are self reliant They make do with what they have They are resourceful They are tough
Cowboys are Special They get the job done because the herd
depends on them They work or ride no matter the
conditions
Cowboys are steady They know what they believe in They will stand up for what they think is
right They show up ready and willing to do
whatever it takes to get the job done
A cowboy rides for the brand
They are loyal to the ranch and the boss They are loyal to their culture and way of
life
Educators must be loyal to their school and administration
More importantly they must be loyal to education as the only path out of oppression!
Cowboy up!It’s a wonderful world