Traffic School Fun

So, a couple of years ago I got a speeding ticket. 

I know, I know. It was the beginning of summer, I had just dropped the kids off at the one, only week of camp where they both were gone all day and I was FREE ... and feeling good and cruising along, jamming out to some great song on the radio ... about 10 miles per hour more “free” with the gas pedal than I should have been.

I tried keep the points off my license so I did online drivers school. 

If you have never done online drivers school, there are a lot of options — including one hosted by a stand up comic. 

I chose the stand up comic. 

Why? Because when learning is more fun, it “sticks” better. 

Nobody goes home on the weekend and does worksheets or reads textbooks.

But we do play games, solve puzzles, and talk with friends. Some of us act or make art or do other creative things. Some of us compete in sports or other competitions. Some of us read interesting books and watch movies or documentaries. 

I know y’all. I know a lot of y’all. 

You are some AMAZING teachers. But you are amazing on your downtime, too! You all lead the scouts, work part time jobs, do stand-up, bartend, teach Sunday school, sing, dance, act, paint, build, climb, paddle, run, mentor, hike, volunteer, camp, cook, travel. (This is why I’m friends with y’all)

We continue to learn even when we aren’t at school. 

As adults, we learn through fun things. 

Kids learn better through fun things, too.

I don’t mean entertainment. There’s a difference. I mean actual learning - that happens to be fun and enjoyable, not miserable. 

 I mean when you are enjoying your learning, you experience a little bit of endorphins. When your brain releases a little bit of endorphins, it learns a little better. 

It sounds overly simplistic, but when you can smile through a learning task, you learn better. When you grumble and frown and argue and groan through it, you don’t learn as much 

(No comment about some PD or meetings being more conducive to learning than others)

It’s why I actually learned more from the online Drivers School hosted by the stand up comedian than the plain, dry, boring one, where someone just clicks through slides and narrates them. He wasn’t hilarious. But he was way better than just the slides! 

I believe that adult learners (that’s YOU, the teachers, in this case), learn better with fun and enjoyment, too.

I’m hoping our DWT next week is full of fun and enjoyment, too. We have some cool things planned.

Your colleagues who are presenting and facilitating sessions have some cool things planned. 

I hope you enjoy your learning at DWT. Relax and enjoy learning something new. And then I hope you can take the spirit of that fun and enjoyment and bring that to your classroom so your STUDENTS can enjoy THEIR learning. 

It’s so easy to forget about the fun and enjoyment part. But it can make a huge difference in making the learning “stick”. 

What makes learning enjoyable for you, as an adult learner? How do you make learning fun and enjoyable for your students? More importantly, how do you NOT FORGET, like I do half the time? 

And how do you make sure even something like traffic school can be fun?

I always love to hear from you! Email me your fun and enjoyment teaching ideas! 

-Tracy