Words of wisdom from Dr. Seuss

By Louise Duncan, Managing Director, TetraMap International  

                                                            Theodor Seuss Geisel, 1904- 1991

Dr. Seuss published over 60 books. 25 years after his death – his books still sit at number one on the children’s bestseller list.  A legendary accomplishment in anyone’s book (pardon the pun)!  
So, what’s the secret?

Have you read the Cat in the Hat, Green Eggs and Ham or Oh,  the Places You’ll Go!?  
Sit a child on your lap with a simple story, great illustrations and repeatable recognisable words, and what happens?  Engagement, Interaction and laughter.  Simple, sticky and fun. 
When everyone relaxes, learning happens naturally. 
 
The secret is to create emotional wellbeing underpinned by serious intent.    

Through my volunteer involvement with Adult Literacy, I discovered those who face literacy challenges later in life, the foundations were often shaky from early childhood. The fun aspect of learning to read was absent, and confidence never grew. One simple message is now promoted to parents,  “Talk, sing and read to your child every day”.

People want to fulfil their potential at work, at home and to society as a whole. So why is adult, or corporate learning often bereft of fun? I wonder if there is a fear that ‘fun’ equals lightweight or meaningless.  I’m sure there’s a grain of truth in that. 

Simple, sticky, and seriously fun.
Perhaps that’s how TetraMap’s Why Are You Like That? has such a successful formula for creating sticky learning experiences. It sets both facilitators and participants up for enjoyable, engaging learning each and every time. It impacts head and heart. It’s simple, yet intriguing enough that people relax, engage and want to learn more. 

Familiarity 
From the illustrative design, the familiar workbook layout, the storytelling approach through nature and metaphors,  the tactile tetrahedron, the use of simple words and colour – it works. 

Tactile. Meaningful. Clever design. Each step carefully and considerately thought through from the learner’s perspective. 

Human connection
I’ve never experienced a workshop where there wasn’t a lot of laughter during some of those lightbulb moments. I’ve also experienced touching moments of deep emotional connection between individuals who’ve managed to find a language and build a closer relationship which respects their differences. In times of conflict that is a massive advantage.

Our need for human connection is growing, and we all want to and connect to something that has purpose and meaning.  I discovered another connection between TetraMap and Dr. Seuss – 
care for the environment… and that’s a topic for a different day…

Words of wisdom 
The more things that you read, the more things you will know. 
The more that you learn, the more places you will go. 
– Dr Seuss