Presented by: Dr. Randy Esters

TEACHING: THE COWBOY WAY

The Esters Family

Where is Home: Louisiana

Home Sweet Home

Opportunity Education

Hobbies

Sam , Preston, me and Rocky the Bluetick Coonhound

Spending time with friends

Church Family

Ya’ll – you all: everyone Ya’ll want to learn something today?

Fixin - about to: preparing to do something We are fixin to get started.

Southern words

Goals of this presentation To model effective strategies

Demonstrate parallels between cowboys and teachers

To give participants tools for teaching To impart a little “cowboy wisdom” to

each of you

What is a cowboy?•Men who tended the herd•Who were rough and tough•But reliable•Trustworthy•Respectful•Courageous•Sometimes, mean as a snake•Sometimes, gentle as a lamb

What is a Cowboy? Wear long sleeves and a hat to protect

them from the elements Love what they love completely If they have fear, they never

show it Say what they mean and

mean what they say

Parallels to Teachers? Teachers tend the children We are rough and tough• But reliable• Trustworthy• Respectful• Courageous• Sometimes, mean as a snake• Sometimes, gentle as a lamb

Parallels to Teachers? We do not have clothes to protect us from

the elements but we develop ways to protect ourselves from the outside world

If we have fear we never show it We say what we mean and mean what

we say

Cowboy Wisdom

Part 1Strategies for Training a

Cowboys’ Best Friend: The Horse

DisclaimerChildren are NOT horses: This is an

analogy not a comparison

Types of Horses

The Show Horse: All show and no go

Race Horses: Always in a hurry and hard to control

Draft Horses: Slow and steady

Cow Horse: Smart, Agile and ready to work

Don’t you wish this were all of

them? OOOHHHH

NO!!! there’s more

Mean horse: mad at the world

Sweet Horses

Big and Little horses

Even horses we train to buck

All shapes, sizes and talents: All horses are individuals

There are no Perfect Horses

Discussion Ticket #1 – What is a “good” child

You must have trust and respect

What are signs of horse trust and respect ?

Child trust and respect ?

Have a controlled Environment to begin

Finish with freedom and exploration

Real world applications

Exaggerate to Teach Over teach a concept or skill. Repetition

and consistent lessons Is the horse ready to learn the lesson: Is

the lesson developmentally appropriate for the child

Short but intense lessons Horse lessons shouldn’t last more than 5

seconds: Child lessons 1 minute for every year of life up to 18.

Lessons should have meaning Lessons should be intense and intentional Begin with the end in mind Lessons must build on each other

Communicate exactly what you expect

The horse must clearly understand what you are asking it to do

People must understand the goal as well You must have their full attention before

you can communicate You can not say one thing and

demonstrate another Fear and mistrust have bad results

Provide praise All people want to be praised Make certain the praise is specific and

timely Be generous but real

Discussion Ticket 2 – talk to a friend and write down as many praise words as you can think of.

Horses give to pressure You can not force a 500 KG horse to do

ANYTHING! Old cowboy saying “ you can lead a horse

to water but you can’t make it drink” The horse must want to be cooperative The more you struggle against it the

more resistant it will be There is a difference in Breaking and

Training

Pressures all people give to

Horses have a dominant side

They will always point the dominant ear when the start to pay attention

It takes work to help them switch sides to be mounted if its not their natural side

Brain Dominance We should be right or left handed, legged,

eyed and earedOur eyes and ears should follow the hand

Effect of Cross Dominance Emotionality – easy to anger or thrill , slow to calm

down Cognitively controlled by stress – ie….blank out at

test time Remember trivial details but forgets the “big

picture” Disorganized – loses things easily. Great at getting

things started , not good at seeing them through.

Usually an “idea” person Many of us learn to compensate. It is simply more

difficult to be structured

A horse must be moving to learn You can not teach a lesson- other than to break

its spirit – to a still horse When you get it moving you must:

Know what you want it to know (state objectives) Tell it that it is about to be given an action (prepare the

learner) Example: “you are going to prepare to stop when I shift

forward” Over teach the lesson

Stop and let it think about what it just learned (review and reflect)

How long should a lesson be?

Movement Produces endorphins “natural mood

enhancers” Breaks up the lesson into chunks Increases the capacity and number of

blood vessels, allowing for the delivery of oxygen, water, and glucose to the brain

Uses “restless” energy

Horses like games Horses and kids learn best when they

think they are playing

Part 2

The Life of a Cowboy

Young cowboys learned by teaching

The old cowboys would show a youngster something then get

them to teach each other. They would practice together

and help each other

Stories and songs Cowboys used songs and stories to pass

their history and experiences down because they were easy to remember

We can use stories and songs in the classroom.

Cowboys are self reliant They make do with what they have They are resourceful They are tough

Cowboys are Special They get the job done because the herd

depends on them They work or ride no matter the

conditions

Cowboys are steady They know what they believe in They will stand up for what they think is

right They show up ready and willing to do

whatever it takes to get the job done

A cowboy rides for the brand

They are loyal to the ranch and the boss They are loyal to their culture and way of

life

Educators must be loyal to their school and administration

More importantly they must be loyal to education as the only path out of oppression!

Cowboy up!It’s a wonderful world