Response to Non-Magical Thinking by Ganet Emig

Response to Ganet Emig’s article
July 13, 2010
The concept of “Magical Thinking” is so apparent in many schools today. Perhaps it there because of a desperate need by educators to know that they are teaching students what they need to pass the state assessments. When I step back and think for a moment, it does seem a bit simplistic to expect that students learn what teachers teach and all will be well. I personally have always felt a tremendous responsibility to try to decide what students need. As Emig point out, in her explanation of “Non-Magical” thinking, we need to provide experiences from which children can choose what they need to know. The implication for the classroom is that I need to provide a safe, structured learning environment where students can have private time to explore. There needs to be a variety of materials such as stories told, books and playthings. Adults or older peers need to encourage make-believe activities during play. In my mind, there needs to be a special effort to provide a play time as part of the schedule each day. It has been said that play is a child’s work and yet so often due to time constraints, it is not happening in our classrooms. When I taught Kindergarten some of the best language development opportunities were happening at the sand table or the play kitchen. These experiences, which can enrich language development among other things. Most children want to draw or write to share experiences. When spoken language is in place, and they are in a language rich environment, this can happen.
I could make a connection with Chukovsy’s theory that between the ages of two and five children are linguistic geniuses. One year my Kindergarten students came to school mostly speaking other languages. Their families were from all over the world and although their parents spoke English, they were encouraged to speak the family’s native language as their first language. They were immersed in English when they came to Kindergarten. What I discovered was that by Christmas they were doing very well with speaking English. They were one of the noisiest classes I have ever taught. The play kitchen and doll house were favorites during play time because they were engaged in what they needed-talking! This group did very well in advancing in their literacy skills in English that year. I was humbled when I watched them. Oh, if I could only grasp a second language as easily!
Another implication for the classroom is that there should be the opportunity to practice writing in a more “playful” way. A classroom writing center where paper, markers, crayons and word banks are there to use privately has been an effective way to address this need. My Kindergarteners and first grade students loved our writing center and frequently chose to use it.
Currently my district uses a published writing curriculum. It offers some good graphic organizers to help students learn organization. These templates for writing have been helpful in writing with my Special Education students. They do feel some success in being able to use the structure to get their ideas down on paper. I do feel that often voice is a trait that is missing when writing is taught this way. As a teacher I have the responsibility to provide a variety of experiences, so I try to use many tools when we write.
Lastly, I need to remember that writers work as frequently from wholes to parts as from parts to wholes.