March 22, 2013
I
found a quote somewhere in my studies of the past year and wrote it onto the
bottom of my quote collection. Google search returned no connection to a
source; I do not know who wrote it but I can so thoroughly connect with their
sentiments that I am devoting a page to reflections on this quote.
“Teachers are overworked and underpaid,
What energy it takes to turn a torrent into a
trickle;
Then to direct that trickle down narrow,
Well-marked channels.”
This
is the perfect metaphor for all I have learned in many decades of working in
the teaching profession. If I can leave anything profound to the rising
generation of teachers it is this: the children arriving at my first grade
classroom door knew how to learn and were full of 6 years of doing it
brilliantly! And no two of them were alike in their learning; their interests;
their genius. Let them teach you their
different ways of knowing.
Stop
expending effort turning this torrent of learning into the trickle of
conformity demanded by workbooks and standardized tests and bells ringing.
Instead, step into the flood by following their natural learning journey. Remember you are their resource not their
reason, find out their background knowledge before presenting your ‘great’
(curriculum) idea. Let them ask the questions that indicate personal gaps
between knowing and understanding; let them re-arrange and play with the new
information until it works through their bodies and into their minds to filling
understanding gaps.
Provide
opportunities for them to explore all
the media, all the different ways of
showing how their understanding can be articulated; articulation is the
best assessment.
Imagination
and creativity are expected of our learners; frequently demanded in workbook
pages, no less! Until prior knowledge and present learning connect in
understanding (and is articulated) there is no framework on which to hang the
power of imagining. And the habit of recording thoughts and ideas assists in
this development.
Creativity
feeds on the power of imaginative connections, examining possibilities and
turning them into visible products or services; every learner can make a
difference in this world if we learn to follow the natural learning journey in
their world.
