Education Being Fun

In an article from the Huffington Post, they talk about how to make mathematics and learning math principles fun through games and other methods.  I don't really know how I feel about it, but I know that there is a difference between having fun and learning.  Yes, I believe there is a blend that can be achieved, and that having the ability to do so is an admirable trait for a teacher to aspire to have.  However, I don't think that when children are purely having fun they will retain as much as they are being expected to.

Many of the games we played in middle school or whenever were rather boring to me, or at least felt very removed.  Some of the review games that many teachers chose were rather immature for the age they were teaching or just were not that great.  I know the "Around the World" game is fun to some, but to many others it was just another class to mess around in.  I don't want to sound like a scrooge or anything, as I was one of the ones that enjoyed playing games like that, but at the same time only half the class would even care and the other half would just try to be funny or kid around.

I know that games that were supposed to be educational ended up just being entertainment or a way to spend time NOT having to be directly involved in a classroom lesson.  Yes, I think we can make some learning fun. No, I don't believe all learning is fun. I just want to try to find a way to mix it up enough to be entertaining, serious, and effective all at once.