Does this sound familiar? How are you going to avoid becoming a cartoon character? Make a promise, choose an intention, or in the words of Yoda “do or do not, there is not try”
Have you identified the irony in this post? 🙂
Be the author of your own life
Does this sound familiar? How are you going to avoid becoming a cartoon character? Make a promise, choose an intention, or in the words of Yoda “do or do not, there is not try”
Have you identified the irony in this post? 🙂
Just because someone knows how to do a task, does not mean they will be able to teach that task to another. A teacher can more effectively teach if they set aside their own ego and step inside the skin of the learner. In other words, teachers should ‘get down on the floor’ and start from the point their student is at, rather than standing ‘on high’ and expecting a student to understand a basket of unintelligible jargon.
A teacher who is able to deconstruct a particular skill into a sequence of component parts and scaffold or model each step while allowing the learner time to practice for themselves, is more likely to share the secret to developing that skill.
A teacher who actively listens and takes responsibility for the communication process is a teacher who offers hope rather than frustration.
Check out the youtube clip below from the musical Mary Poppins. It is interesting in its portrayal of the differing expectations of child and parent. Although it considers the role of a Nanny, we can use it as a starting point for a discussion on what students want from their teachers.
If you were writing an advertisement for a new teacher, what qualities would you be looking for?
While you are thinking about this, reflect on your own ability to share the secrets of a particular skill with another. Do you ‘show’ or ‘teach’ – do you know the difference between the two 🙂
What does this statement actually mean?
I’ve heard mindfulness described as ‘being in the moment’. It involves recognising the present, rather than guessing what will happen or, obsessing about what has happened. The term mindful implies being aware. It reminds us to focus on the task at hand, to recognise our emotional response to a situation and distinguish our thoughts.
So, how does this apply to expression?
On one level it suggests being conscious of what we say and understanding that just because we said something, doesn’t mean it’ll be interpreted the same way. I’m sure we have all experienced times where we spoke in good faith but were misunderstood. These mismatches in communication occur when we have one story in our mind and the person we are communicating with has a different story. In other words, different experiences and different emotional states give rise to different perspectives.
‘Be mindful of expression’ is a comment I often write on student’s essays. Am I asking them to be conscious of what they say? Yes! I am asking them to be conscious of the way their sentences may be interpreted by the reader. Yet I am also asking them to focus on the task at hand so they may write coherently and cohesively.
At a purely mechanical level I make this suggestion so students can develop and improve their writing skills. They need to focus on the words they choose, the way they arrange words in a sentence and the way they link sentences together. They need to be conscious of spelling and punctuation. Similarly, after they have written, they need to edit and draft their work. This is arguably the most productive part of the writing process since it facilitates improvements in writing style.
How?
Because the process of editing requires a person to reread what they have written. At this point a student is checking for both accuracy and clarity. In other words, they are asking themselves, does this make sense? As a result of this self-correction the student is training themselves to recognise how to write effectively.
At a more profound level I make this suggestion to encourage students to reflect on their ideas and how they share those ideas with others. When we are present in the moment, our energies are focused on what is at hand, we are paying attention and are aware of our thoughts and emotions. We are here rather than guessing what if.
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