365 Lessons: #13 On My Watch

365 Lessons

(Critical Thinking About What The World Is Teaching Me Every Day)

#13 On My Watch 

[Lesson Break Down]

 Learning takes time.  More frequently than not the effects of learning aren’t fully accessible by the learner immediately.  Even when lessons are understood and appreciated they need to be processed, practiced, and perpetuated. 

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I had an interesting conversation with a colleague yesterday afternoon.  He reminded me of a conversation that we’ve had repeatedly over the course of time, the topic of which has been:  The learning that we impart on our students isn’t always visible during the time they spend with us, or in other words, “they don’t always blossom on our watch.”  Ironically, I know this.  Still, it’s not my default.  I find myself looking for students to learn and be able to demonstrate that learning right away, which is kind of silly because I know that the best learning comes from repeated connections, authentic opportunities for application, and relevant ties.  I want my 3 year old and my 1 year old to understand that they should clean up the game they’re playing before they dump the contents of another game onto the living room floor.  I’ve told them frequently.  However, they’re 3 and 1.  And again, I know that people, young and old, aren’t “on the spot” learners…they’re processors.

As teachers, we provide a relatively invisible product.  Sure our students can present final drafts of persuasive writing pieces, capstone projects that illustrate learning and development over time, and geometry unit tests, but we’re often not around to celebrate (or share the credit for) the real outcomes of our work.  Arguably, the primary goal of educators and our education systems is to guide students through the process of becoming well rounded, happy, healthy, and productive members of our global community.  Much of the time we spend with them contributes to that end in ways we may never know about.  If society is a garden, teachers typically do things like clear and till plots of land, design spaces and build retaining walls, weed, plant seeds, water, etc.  We often see the results of our passion and labor from a distance.  Lesson #13 reminds me of how important critical reflection is.  Our students are not always showing us all that they know and are able to do.  The key is that they are able to access and apply it as needed – whether or not we’re around.