Snap To It!
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Mar 4, 2009 Posted by Ned Johnson
I like to snap. I do it all the time. I drive my colleagues a little nuts. "Ah...here comes Ned." Typically, I snap when striding off to find a document, attending to some task, or getting to a meeting. Partly, I'm what many might describe as "high energy." Less generously, I am kind of a spaz. One thing that seems certain, though, is that I am kinesthetic. I learn by doing. I'm rather fidgety. I like to be busy and rarely sit still.
For kids built that way, tests offer an added challenge. They can do their homework lying on their beds, flopped over a chair, pacing their rooms. They can absently play with a pen or coin while also trying to absorb projectile motion in physics, or idly tickle their dog's head while reading Darwin. Whatever works.
School and tests bring different rules. "Don't turn around." "Don't distract others around you." "Remove everything from your desk." A student I just met had four days of morning detention (egads!) for, among other things, chewing gum. Apart from the unfortunate places where used gum is deposited, I wondered what so infuriates teachers about gum? My student added that she typically chews on pen caps, also earning her teacher's disapprobation. It made me think of a previous student I once worked with who, also a bundle of energy, "needed" to chew gum to occupy her frenetic body and mind. It became a part of her ritual to keep her from tapping her foot to the point of being flogged by fellow test-takers. One practice test showed a strong start but a precipitous plunge in the second half of the test. "What happened?!?" was met with "I ran out of gum." Alrighty then.
If this image I've described is you, or maybe your kid, brainstorm what can be done to sate the need for movement and kinesthetic connections. Try taking your practice test while chewing gum or a pencil or pen, if you must (I know...Ewwww!) Twirl your hair? Another sign. Hair too short? Wear a hooded sweatshirt with strings you can coil. For some, things to "play with" are soothing tools for keeping brains engaged. Watch your patterns and look to bring to tests the coping techniques that you already rely on each day. Just avoid snapping. That won't make you friends during a test.