Day 45
For one year, 365 days, this blog will address the Common Core Standards from the perspective of creating an alternate, ambient learning environment for math. Ambient is defined as “existing or present on all sides, an all-encompassing atmosphere.” And ambient music is defined as: “Quiet and relaxing with melodies that repeat many times.”
Why ambient? A math teaching style that’s whole and all encompassing, with themes that repeat many times through the years, is most likely to be effective and successful. Today’s post, as a farewell to the Kindergarten, features Bruno Bettleheim’s thoughts on why fairy tales are the best fare for a young developing mind. And to close, the wonderful Grimm’s tale, “The Bremen Town Musicians,” used as the Math By Hand / Grade 1 introduction to the number 4 (see the accompanying Grade 1 drawings at the bottom). If this tale is told a number of times in the Kindergarten, it will be reassuringly familiar when it comes again the following year.
Taken from the Math By Hand / Grade 1 introduction to the fairy tales for the numbers 1-12,
“Bettelheim says that the child’s mind, rapidly expanding into new fields of knowledge and experience, fills the resultant huge gaps in understanding with fantasy. This impulse finds a true friend in the fairy and folk tale. Beginning with realistic scenarios, such as a mother sending her daughter off alone to Grandmother’s, or a father and stepmother worrying about not having enough food for themselves and their two children, (“Little Red Riding Hood” and Hansel and Gretel”) the story inevitably escalates into a fantastic world of animals who speak, evil witches in candy covered houses, frogs who are enchanted kings, and other wonderful flights into a world where disbelief is willingly suspended. The hero of the story, (often a boy or girl, or a kind-hearted, simple soul) after facing many trials and tribulations, always wins in the end. Thus, fantasy is given free reign, with events in the story that are far more challenging than any real life has to offer. A child has difficulty absorbing abstract facts and reasoning, since the capacity to understand them is not yet sufficiently developed. These stories, rich in symbolic pictures, carry comfort and conviction, whereas “facts” are usually confusing, thus causing greater uncertainty. The story of Jack the Giant Killer is more reassuring to a fearful child than simply stating the fact that there are no giants. Jack is a small boy pitted against a huge, fearful giant. He wins his life (and riches as well) by cleverly using his wits.”
Though this may be off the math subject, I’d like to contrast the above sentiment to that of presenting a Kindergartner with a worksheet or an assessment test. These mistaken interpretations of the Common Core are causing much heartache and pain, to children and parents alike. It may be true that the Common Core Standards do not inherently demand that the concepts they offer be drilled and then tested, but unfortunately this is indeed how the Common Core is largely being interpreted. Now let us escape to the wonderful world of “The Bremen Town Musicians” . . .
A certain man had a donkey, which had carried the corn sacks to the mill indefatigably for many a long year. But his strength was going, and he was growing more and more unfit for work. Then his master began to consider how he might best save his keep. But the donkey, seeing that no good wind was blowing, ran away and set out on the road to Bremen. There, he thought, I can surely be a town-musician. When he had walked some distance, he found a hound lying on the road, gasping like one who had run till he was tired. “What are you gasping so for, you big fellow,” asked the donkey. “Ah,” replied the hound,” as I am old, and daily grow weaker, and no longer can hunt, my master wanted to kill me, so I took to flight, but now how am I to earn my bread?” “I tell you what,” said the donkey, “I am going to Bremen, and shall be town-musician there. Go with me and engage yourself also as a musician. I will play the lute, and you shall beat the kettle-drum.” The hound agreed, and on they went. Before long they came to a cat, sitting on the path, with a face like three rainy days. “Now then, old shaver, what has gone askew with you,” asked the donkey. “Who can be merry when his neck is in danger?” answered the cat. “Because I am now getting old, and my teeth are worn to stumps, and I prefer to sit by the fire and spin, rather than hunt about after mice, my mistress wanted to drown me, so I ran away. But now good advice is scarce. Where am I to go?” “Go with us to Bremen. You understand night music, you can be a town-musician.” The cat thought well of it, and went with them. After this the three fugitives came to a farmyard, where the cock was sitting upon the gate, crowing with all his might. “Your crow goes through and through one,” said the donkey. “What is the matter?” “I have been foretelling fine weather, because it is the day on which our lady washes the child’s little shirts, and wants to dry them, said the cock. But guests are coming for Sunday, so the housewife has no pity, and has told the cook that she intends to eat me in the soup tomorrow, and this evening I am to have my head cut off. Now I am crowing at the top of my lungs while still I can.” “Ah, but red-comb,” said the donkey, “you had better come away with us. We are going to Bremen. You can find something better than death everywhere. You have a good voice, and if we make music together it must have some quality.” The cock agreed to this plan, and all four went on together. They could not reach the city of Bremen in one day, however, and in the evening they cam to a forest where they meant to pass the night. The donkey and the hound laid themselves down under a large tree, the cat and the cock settled themselves in the branches. But the cock flew right to the top, where he was most safe. Before he went to sleep he looked round on all four sides, and thought he saw in the distance a little spark burning. So he called out to his companions that there must be a house not far off, for he saw a light. The donkey said, “If so, we had better get up and go on, for the shelter here is bad.” The hound thought too that a few bones with some meat on would do him good. So they made their way to the place where the light was, and soon saw it shine brighter and grown larger, until they came to a well-lighted robbers’ house. The donkey, as the biggest, sent to the window and looked in. “What do you see, my grey-horse,” asked the cock. “What do I see?” answered the donkey. “A table covered with good things to eat and drink, and robbers sitting at it enjoying themselves.” “That would be the sort of think for us,” said the cock. “Yes, yes. Ah, if only we were there,” said the donkey. Then the animals took counsel together how they should manage to drive away the robbers, and at last they thought of a plan. The donkey was to place himself with his fore-feet upon the window ledge, the hound was to jump on the donkey’s back, the cat was to climb upon the dog, and lastly the cock was to fly up and perch upon the head of the cat. When this was done, at a given signal, they began to perform their music together. The donkey brayed, the hound barked, the cat mewed, and the cock crowed. Then they burst through the window into the room, shattering the glass. At this horrible din, the robbers sprang up, thinking no otherwise than that a ghost had come in, and fled in a great fright out into the forest. The four companions now sat down at the table, well content with what was left, and ate as if they were going to fast for a month. As soon as the four minstrels had done, they put out the light, and each sought for himself a sleeping-place according to his nature and what suited him. The donkey laid himself down upon some straw in the yard, the hound behind the door, the cat upon the hearth near the warm ashes, and the cock perched himself upon a beam of the roof. And being tired from their long walk, they soon went to sleep. When it was past midnight, and the robbers saw from afar that the light was no longer burning in their house, and all appeared quiet, the captain said, “We ought not to have let ourselves be frightened out of our wits,” and ordered one of them to go and examine the house. The messenger finding all still, went into the kitchen to light a candle, and, taking the glistening fiery eyes of the cat for live coals, he held a match to them to light it. But the cat did not understand the joke, and flew in his face, spitting and scratching. He was dreadfully frightened, and ran to the back door, but the dog, who lay there, sprang up and bit his leg. And as he ran across the yard by the dunghill, the donkey gave him a smart kick with its hind foot. The cock, too, who had been awakened by the noise, and had become lively, cried down from the beam, “Cock-a-doodle-doo!” Then the robber ran back as fast as he could to his captain, and said, “Ah, there is a horrible witch sitting in the house, who spat on me and scratched my face with her long claws. And by the door stands a man with a knife, who stabbed me in the leg. and in the yard there lies a black monster, who beat me with a wooden club. And above, upon the roof, sits the judge, who called out, bring the rogue here to me. So I got away as well as I could.” After this the robbers never again dared enter the house. But it suited the four musicians of Bremen so well that they did not care to leave it any more.
With this we say farewell to the Kindergarten, and begin looking at first grade tomorrow. Knowledge ensues in an environment dedicated to imaginative, creative knowing, where student and teacher alike surrender to the ensuing of that knowledge as a worthy goal.
