In a first grade classroom this week I overheard the
following exchange between two boys:
J: It
doesn’t matter if you make mistakes. Sometimes people HAVE to make
mistakes.
T: What the heck? I didn’t know
that!
We continue to celebrate our failures in an elementary
methods class on Friday. Some important shared understandings have resulted:
- · We ALL make mistakes – according to one wise 6-year-old, we HAVE to make them
- · Teaching is hard
- · It takes time to learn to teach – a lifetime, in fact
- · Mistakes are part of teaching
- · We are not where we want to be…YET
The beauty and the challenge of teaching are that the
target, the “where we want to be” keeps moving.
So the game really is rigged because while we are not there yet
(application of a growth mindset) we won’t ever really get there. I tell my
students to send me an email when they think they have mastered teaching…so I
can send them a reply admonishing them to find a new career.
Our Friday discussions really don’t focus on the failure.
The students ultimately end up focusing on finding a fix. Typically a student
shares a situation and describes what they tried to do. Then a discussion of
what else they could do or try ensues. The students are all seated around one
large table and they truly engage in a discussion. Nobody raises her/his hand
as there is no need for permission to speak. I try not lead these discussions.
I do find myself asking if anyone else wants to share, more of a role of
transition maker or extender. This community of preservice teacher learners is
engaging in authentic, organic, inquiry-based learning.
We cannot overlook the support they are providing for each
other. Sometimes there is a sense of relief after making a story public. One of
the students said, “I am so glad we are doing this because it let’s me know we
are all pretty much in the same place. It isn’t just me.” Nope – it isn’t just
you.
For others there seems to be a “can you believe this
happened” aspect. One of these prefaced her share with “I have been waiting all
week to share this.” Then she launched into a description of a first grade bathroom
mishap. These reinforce the notion of just when you think you’ve seen it all,
this happens. Teaching is certainly rife with those moments! You cannot really be prepared for everything that is going to happen.
While there seems to be much value for the participants in
the specific conversations, there is also value in the general idea of having
the conversations. Couldn’t all teachers benefit from talking to others about
what isn’t working, problem solving together? Imagine a safe space to celebrate
your failures with a focus on figuring out what to do next. That could bring a
whole new meaning to a “Team Meeting!”
Maybe we should rename it “Figuring It Out Together Friday”
Still learning…to
teach, Dr. G.
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