“And how about you? What
have you seen or enjoyed lately, that you would have missed out on if you'd
rushed by it?”
I love to go hiking and enjoy
nature. Many times I’m with my hiking group and I’m busy talking and
socializing so I don’t pay attention as much as I should. When it is just my
husband and myself, we tend to hike slower and look closer for things in nature.
He is good about seeing things that move so he can spot a snake, a salamander,
or an insect faster than I can. I like to look for color and always looking for
a wildflower that I can identify or try to figure out what it is.
I think I feel that way about
teaching sometimes. I’m so intent on following a procedure and working towards
the end goal that I sometimes forget to enjoy the process. Sometimes it isn’t
always about the end result as much as the journey to get there. When I slow my
teaching down, I can listen to my students’ comments and hear what they are
struggling with or what they have discovered. Both are so helpful with future
learning! By doing this, I can also help them celebrate the small victories and
small steps toward success which makes moving forward easier.
I remember teaching my student the
sounds of letters and how to put them together. When he first learned to sound
out a word, he (and his family) were thrilled. This was more exciting than when
he read a whole paragraph!
I remember when I was teaching my
student to add numbers. First we used concrete models to see how everything looked
like. When he was able to solve his first problem on paper, it was a thrilling
momen! It was better than when he was able to answer a whole sheet of problems.
Sometimes I forget that the actual
learning can also be as much fun as reaching the goal!
What lessons in your classroom have
you enjoyed because you didn’t rush by it? Please share.
No comments:
Post a Comment