You know a man has got a way with children when he's able to set off a squirming group of 11-year-olds into an uncontrollable bout of giggles even before the real show has started. Ian McKellar is that type of man. As he bounds on to the stage and lets loose his booming voice and infectious laughter on the gaggle of children in the auditorium, every sign of boredom vanishes as they watch the man perch himself on his unicycle and set off on a rambunctious round of antics.
But McKellar is not out to merely entertain a group of kids. He is fleshing out the term ‘edutainment' to its fullest dimension as he imparts information on the importance of a nutritious meal. It's one thing to be sitting in a classroom and being told about the benefits of eating oranges and apples with a few squiggles drawn on the board and quite another to be driven to peals of laughter in an auditorium as you watch a showman juggle fruit, eggs and vegetables with jaw-dropping dexterity to drive home the same point. The virtues of carbohydrates and proteins suddenly seem terribly interesting to young minds.
How juggling aids learning
Audience involvement seem to be the key words in McKellar's performances because he definitely knows how to work the crowd. He even manages to cajole a few unsuspecting teachers, who are the co-audience along with the little ones, to come up on stage and chop celery with a speed that will leave their fingers safe. In an atmosphere heavy with anticipation, the students watch a teacher handling a celery chopping machine with aplomb - with a little help from McKellar of course.
What truly earns their full admiration however is McKellar's antics on the unicycle. At one point, he seems to be on the verge of an inevitable topple but he rights himself just in time. The atmosphere in the auditorium, which just a second ago had frozen with a collective holding of breath, thaws as McKellar regains balance. The kids relax, happy for their hero. McKellar then shoots them a look that seems to say, "Did you really think I didn't know what I was doing?" In all this pure entertainment are embedded the real lessons.
For example, the riveting act of balancing a bowl on his chin with a plumbing plug is a visual enactment of the word ‘balanced diet', a cue that is too strong to be missed by young minds. With his colourful juggling clubs, balls flying through the air and incessant supply of tricks up his sleeve, McKellar, who also turns from juggler to a ‘Healthy Chef' would definitely put the Cat in the Hat to shame. This, if you have not realised as yet, is the Jugglebox concept.
How it all began
The seed for Jugglebox was sown when McKellar shifted base to Dubai two and a half years ago. He was doing corporate keynote speaking and training work when he realised that "there was nobody providing theatre and education within the school system." He remembered that this was an effective tool for reinforcing curriculum areas.
McKellar then decided to use his prior experience as a touring juggler in Australia who did a lot of school shows, to formulate an innovative educational method where he would use a combination of theatrical, juggling and teaching skills to speak to children about subjects varying from the importance of healthy eating to realising one's core talents and learning the importance of adaptability.
McKellar plays different protagonists in his shows, and is a lesson in adaptability himself. Within the span of half an hour, he switches his comical chef's hat and identity for the more serious role of a man in formal wear who teaches the slightly older kids the importance of adaptability and "Juggling your Priorities" (also the title of this segment), in today's competitive workplace. He supports this talk by demonstrating how he himself gradually shifted from two juggling balls to three and then graduated on to the more difficult handling of clubs and finally became a professional juggler!
He is of the firm belief that the results of teaching through a visual medium are supremely effective. "When kids see someone juggling on a unicycle, doing magic, or being really funny with those educational concepts, the information embeds itself in their brain and memory with more force. My role with theatre and through the concept of Jugglebox is to reinforce existing areas of curriculum. I do that through entertaining kids as a juggler, as a comedy chef and as a clown who needs help from them and support from friends to keep his self-esteem up."
Not just a visual treat
So how exactly do a bunch of balls and clubs being spun in the air and some stunts on a unicycle help in accelerating a child's understanding of concepts? It all boils down to the very important "visual factor" says McKellar. "I believe that when you present an idea or concept in a way that is different to standing in front of somebody and talking then you're going to remember the importance of what was said.
I know for certain that a child who has watched my show and seen me balancing a whole bowl of water on my chin will remember the significance of the term ‘balanced diet'. That's what it's about."
His method, he would be happy to agree, is much like a zesty, tongue-tingling salad dressing that converts an unpretentious bowl of greens into an irresistibly delicious meal.
McKellar explains, "In places like the UK and Australia, there are a lot of companies like this that are working on exactly the same educational concept." Children, he says, learn not only by listening. The hands-on, tactile approach has the highest percentage in terms of retentive value. The next highest percentage is that of visual learning, with oral communication coming in third. "So what I combine is the visual with the tactile (juggling) and children remember it."
Reinforcing learning concepts
While the Jugglebox method might have its fair share of cynics who question the relevance and feasibility of an exaggeratedly theatrical method being used to impart information on a daily basis, McKellar is very assured of its value. He says: "I don't break down very specific teaching lessons and this is what we want to be really clear about to teachers and parents. What we do is we reinforce the educational messages. We don't go in to teach really specific stuff. It's about the extras, it's about aiding the whole educational process and making it fun and memorable. The role of the Jugglebox is to aid in the learning of the very specific themes within the curriculum.
"I tackle areas of physical health in the first two shows for primary classes. Balanced diet and healthy eating are real areas in the curriculum. What I'm doing is reinforcing the educational programme." He creates, he says, "excitement about the educational subject, so when teachers go into the classroom to talk about healthy eating and using those resources, the students are reminded of it more fully because they've seen a crazy Healthy Chef on stage."
Parents in the UAE will also be happy to learn from McKellar that schools in the region are increasingly investing in having workshops for teachers in the Jugglebox and it is in fact "a very big component of teachers professional development. Part of the job of being a teacher, is that all teachers undergo continuing professional development."
Two such skills where he has offered his expertise are The British School Middle East and Star International School in Al Tawaar.
McKellar and his Jugglebox have received a very encouraging response so far. He says, "I have to date performed 19 shows in schools since the launch (about five weeks ago) and we've had some really positive comments and teacher's quotes about how they're finding it."
Juggling classes on cards
Aside from the obvious edutainment value of this system, learning the physical act of juggling also reaps various other benefits for students in terms of skills acquired from coordinating the left and right side of the brain. As McKellar puts it, "When you're juggling you have to be ambidextrous and that helps to improve focus. It's one of those things that's good for so much stuff," he says in his typical jocular manner.
The good news for kids who have been completely taken in by McKellar's jugglery and wish to try their hand at it themselves, is that he will be beginning juggling classes soon. He says, "I've had trouble finding places but the first venue where we will probably be launching is in Mirdif this September."
Future plans
If this sounds too good to be true and you need further convincing that it's possible to learn this art, one only has to watch McKellar's demonstration at the Royal Dubai School recently where he coaxed a teacher to volunteer and had him juggling like a pro, well almost, within a few moments of basic teaching.
McKellar is clearly ambitious about expanding his concept. He foresees a time when Jugglebox will make its mark on the educational map of the UAE, and hopefully the region too, and become an indispensable mode of teaching in itself. "Five years down the line, I hope to see six to eight different educational shows being available to schools and I see us booking up the whole year because teachers recognise the value of this concept and children are just crying out to get edutained!"
We all know it may be a while before children the world over see their teachers hopping on to unicycles and juggling oranges and eggs with ease with the aim of encouraging them to make healthier eating choices. But if the peals of laughter and the lit-up faces of McKellar's young audiences are anything to go by, none of these children are going to be neglecting those string beans, peas, carrots and spinach in their school lunch boxes any more.
For more details on juggling classes, you can contact agent1@dr.com
Jehan Nizar is a Dubai-based freelance writer
