I Know What’s Best

In To All the Mops I've Loved Before from Sioux's Page, Sioux Roslawski shared,

“To be completely honest, my husband and I have battled over mops throughout the years. He doesn't mop, but he thinks he know which mops are the best.”

I know that my husband and I have the same kind of battles. When I drive somewhere, he will suggest that the route he usually takes is the better way. I insist that I like going my route better. If we are cooking something, he will state that the pots and utensils he uses when cooking is much better than mine. I insist that I like my way of cooking better.

This had me worrying about whether I insist on the same kind of things in my classroom. Do I try to make my students learn the way that I felt was best for me? I need to make sure that I find out their learning styles and teach in a way that works best for them.

Do I insist that they use the same learning tools that worked best for me? I need to help students find the tools that work best for them. This may involve some time and patience because it may be a “trial and error” process. But in the long run, this will pay off if it makes learning easier for them.

I remember my daughters complaining to me when I helped them with their math homework. They kept insisting that this wasn’t the way the teacher did it. They said they would get in trouble if they didn’t show the work exactly the way the teacher did it. I find this sad because I feel there is more than one way to get to an answer and if you find the way that works best for you,  it should be okay. Students should be encouraged to find different ways to get to the final result as long as that process works every time for them to get the correct answers.

Isn’t the end result more important than the process that individual people use to get there? If we arrive at the desired place, it doesn’t matter the route that we took to get there. If the food is cooked and tastes good, it doesn’t matter what was used to make it.

If my students learn the material and can retain it, I don’t care how they learn it as long as they don’t get frustrated and give up. Each time they are successful in their learning, it makes future learning possible. Each prior success is a building block for future successes.

Do you insist that students learn a specific way? If so, why? Please share.

Photo by pan xiaozhen on Unsplash