Talking, talking, talking

I really enjoy magic talks-I definitely believe that what is written is just as powerful as what is said and that written words have the same capacity as spoken words. To be seen and felt instead of heard is the difference with the magic talk and a regular talk. It is more involved and more reflective than a regular conversation. While you have to watch what you say, you also have to watch what you write. It is a good practice to get into to have these kinds of activities. It benefits those who often shy away from speaking aloud. They don’t necessarily have to worry about being ‘called-out’ by someone and embarrassed, unless they have a very distinguishable handwriting. I think that the IRF cycle is an important piece of any classroom talk. To acknowledge what someone has said makes the speaker feel validated, whether the answer was right or wrong is another question however. That’s why it is a good idea to ask a variety of types of questions so students don’t get stuck in the groove of answering the same old questions: Challenging them challenges you as a teacher. Talks can quickly become heated and people go on the defense, as we saw in the clip from Freedom Writers. I think this can be healthy as well though. That teacher would have never really known her students had that conversation not occurred. The big idea to take away from this topic is that silence does not facilitate learning! Talk it up!!