On not being jaded
I just re-read that last post. Two things strike me. First, I'm jaded. Some might even say lacking respect for my students. I wonder. Second, I think this is at least the third posting in this blog that suggests a new beginning ("a fresh start", "a new life", etc. Please don't make me find the links.). Does this suggest I have a twitchy reset button? Or just that I'm an optimistic fool? Maybe I just have a bad memory.
posted by Colin at 10:37 AM
3 Comments:
I guess that makes me a jaded optimist. Hmm. I'm also commenting on my own post. Can you spell solipsism? Day before the Labour Day Weekend on a university campus. It's like a ghost town. A movie set. I'd run naked down the halls, but I bet campus police have to stay until 5.
A wise aunt of mine, who is a fabulous teacher, once said something helpful about "reaching" people (students, friends, children, etc.) She said that, as a teacher, she is always gratified and motivated by the students who "get it" - the ones who react visibly to her teaching. It makes sense, of course - our egos love to feel the pleasure of making a difference, the instant gratification of knowing we've "changed a life."
But Mary says it's important to remember that, sometimes, a person needs to hear the same message repeated 20, 30, 40 times before they "get it." We may be connecting with that person on the second, ninth, or 18th delivery of the message, so we do not get the reward of being present for the "aha moment." But our connection is still important - a contribution to the cumulative effect, even though our ego doesn't get the goodies!
Hi Kate,
Yes, that's absolutely true...you often can't predict the effects of what you're doing, nor see them yourself. Once or twice I've bumped into students later in life and have been amazed by what they've told me they learned from me (often things I didn't realize I was teaching).
One of the very first teaching experiences I had was when I worked as a math tutor while studying at university. I spent countless hours trying to bash trigonometry into a young man's head - all at great expense to his parents and to no obvious effect. I was sure they would soon fire me. One night, I went over to see him, braced for another fruitless hour of trying to find a way to help him 'get' it and I discovered, to my utter astonishment, that he had somehow learned everything he needed to know, seemingly overnight. I talked to his mother after the session, told her how much he had progressed and how amazed I was by how all of the tutelage had suddenly taken hold. "Well, maybe," she said, "but last night we also promised him a bike if he passed math."
You never know where inspiration comes from.
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