That’s Easy! Now Can You Explain It Again?

I feel like this happens the most in math class.  Have you ever sat listening to your teacher explain problem solving strategies while working out a challenge on the board and felt supremely confident that you could do the same later on?  Have you ever felt that way and then sat staring at a problem with no clue how to proceed a few hours later?  I have.  In have as a young person and I did today.  The fact is experts tend make things look easy.

I’m working on developing my skills at making sense of, and thoughtfully reviewing empirical research articles.  I recently sat with one of my professors as she whipped her way through an example.  She was skimming what I thought to be a pretty complex piece of research, just spewing out assertions about theoretical constructs, methodology, and causal factors as if she was flicking poppy seeds off of a bagel.  As she was doing it I followed.  I guess the fact that I was even able to follow is good in and of itself.  Maybe I’m learning.  Regardless, when I got home it was much more difficult to work my way through my own review than it was to feel confident while I was sitting in the university workroom with an expert.

It’s like those pictures with thousands of dots that you stare at until you see the hidden picture within the dots.  I’m catching glimpses of the picture, it’s coming in and out of form, but it’s not all together accessible to me at this moment.  The cool thing is that those glimpse remind me that I have to capacity to get there, which motivates me to do just that.

As educators we we’ve got to always remember and be patient with the fact that our students are each in various places along a spectrum of learning and growth.  Some pictures are coming into clear view for them while others remain a splattering of thousands of dots.  I love being a student while I’m learning how to be a principal because it helps me empathize with those I serve.  Learning takes time.  Taking time to teach with calm compassion is truly important to the process.

Live. Learn. Lead.

Dream Big. Work Hard. Be Well.