"Always make the effort to notice what everyone else has overlooked or taken for granted. It’s the beginning of all creativity and innovation."
Sometimes it is the overlooked or the ones who were taken for granted who surprise us.
It is easy to pay attention to the noisy ones or the ones who are most disruptive. The saying, “the squeaky wheel gets the grease” is true but sometimes the quiet ones get overlooked.
My parents brought me up in a culture where it was important to be quiet and work hard to not be noticed. I went through all the years of public school and college trying to be this way.
When I became a teacher, I realized that this was not the best way to be. I started working hard to help students be self-advocates. It is during this time that I learned how creative and innovative the quiet ones can be. When some of the “noisy” ones needed help, I encouraged the “quiet” ones to be helpers.
I encouraged students to speak up and share ideas that they had. Brainstorming was encouraged and all students had an equal opportunity to share ideas without worry of ridicule. When everyone was able to work together, the students were more successful with their assignments and even seemed to feel happier.
I wanted to help all of my students be the “squeaky wheel” and get attention from me. It is too easy to put all my energy into the more disruptive students and be thankful that the quiet students aren’t sapping my energy. Instead, I tried to change the cycle and give more attention to the students acting appropriately. Eventually, the disruptive students started changing their behavior so that they could get my attention. By the end of the year, I like to think that all of my students felt comfortable speaking out, sharing ideas, and asking for help when needed.
How do you deal with students who are being overlooked? Please share.
No comments:
Post a Comment