Thursday, January 12, 2006
Sometimes, you forget to be grateful for the brains that you have.
I just got done teaching my afternoon groups. Two groups of 4th graders from the same class. The concepts that I'm trying to get across to them are not that difficult. The steps of the procedures are very simple, formulaic, and straightforward. And you know what? They still stumble. They still need what we call "guided practice" after several weeks of the same thing. This isn't good, and it's very frustrating from my end. It can't be any treat from their end, either.
I sometimes jokingly say to other teachers that we do need people to make french fries, as well as perform intra-cranial surgery and spacecraft design, but the truth is that I really want these kids to have more options than that. The only way to have options is to have knowledge and skills, and trying to explain that sometimes just doesn't seem to be working. I think I'd have better luck teaching a slug to ice skate, or a mouse to calibrate thrust ratios on an afterburning engine.
So, tomorrow, we'll do it again, and again and again, and I hope that you'll take a minute and really appreciate that brain that you were given, because some people are always going to struggle, no matter how hard the teacher tries. There isn't anyone at fault; it just is.
--
Is it really truth that we seek, or just a sweet enough lie to settle our minds so we can sleep at night?
I sometimes jokingly say to other teachers that we do need people to make french fries, as well as perform intra-cranial surgery and spacecraft design, but the truth is that I really want these kids to have more options than that. The only way to have options is to have knowledge and skills, and trying to explain that sometimes just doesn't seem to be working. I think I'd have better luck teaching a slug to ice skate, or a mouse to calibrate thrust ratios on an afterburning engine.
So, tomorrow, we'll do it again, and again and again, and I hope that you'll take a minute and really appreciate that brain that you were given, because some people are always going to struggle, no matter how hard the teacher tries. There isn't anyone at fault; it just is.
--
Is it really truth that we seek, or just a sweet enough lie to settle our minds so we can sleep at night?
