Written by Wow. Saturday was a lot! (Anyone else?). I was the one in the hallway, the one almost brought to tears by the overwhelming feeling of not understanding… as a grown adult. It’s been awhile since I felt that way in the “classroom”. Anxious, nervous, overwhelmed, a little scared (and excited of course!), but it all just felt like a lot. Is this how my students really feel when I give them too much information at once? Just like the entire Cohort 21 family, I am positive and encouraging when I share new information, reassuring them that I will help them understand. But I am just one piece in the jigsaw they call school. How many times a day does this happen?
This was one of those special “ah ha!” moments for me. Yes, those feelings sucked, but what if that’s how I felt day after day. As an educator, I was able to persevere through, to attack the challenge put in front of me. I was able to take control of my emotions and do what I needed to do to help myself through this overwhelming feeling. RUN.
Very literally, run. Not away from the problem but I went for a 10k run, my favourite way to think. I know this is an important thing for me to do in order to keep balance in my life but do my students know themselves this way? What to do when they are overwhelmed? We talk about how to de-stress but do we show them how to put this into practice? Can I help them find this? And just like that…. I have a key goal in my action plan: practicing mindfulness and discovering ways in which they can love learning again, rather than have this overwhelming feeling in their gut.
I was a student. A student like we picture when we think of our biggest challenge in the classroom. We know our challenge but do we know theirs? Being one of them for the day was really a great thing. We should probably try it more.
And yes… I ask more questions than your students.
Yes @aleacock, thank you for capturing and sharing your experience. I’m certain all of us will benefit from your honesty! I think you will find that this entire cohort experience will effectively place you in your students’ shoes again and again. I’m forever experiencing the same jarring moments you describe, amazed by the extent to which I sometimes haven’t properly considered the student perspective – the extent to which we have not properly armed the students with the necessary tools to work through problems.
I think what’s so powerful about the “moonshot” is that the target remains unchanged. When faced with those critical moments – in which the instinct may be to “RUN” – how do we persevere without changing or compromising the target? And yes! I think you’re so right! The real learning is in those skills that allow them to persevere. I love what you said, and I agree. Persevering and falling in love with learning again are probably the same thing.
Andrea, you’ve opened the door to an essential conversation between all of us. The excitement to reach the moon is not nearly enough to help us through the journey. What are some strategies teachers are using -what are the essential skills identified – that allow the students to overcome?
Mindfulness at the centre of your Action Plan is an incredible and noble idea. I can’t wait to follow your journey!
@jmedved @gnichols @ddoucet @shelleythomas @lmcbeth @ckirsh
@aleacock One of the best and eye opening PD experiences a teacher can undertake is to shadow a student for a day in one of our schools. Having recently done it I certify that it is exhausting, fun, stressful and engaging all at the same time. I love how you articulated your “learning experience” from Saturday. At the very least we provided you with lots to think about and consider! I look forward to your AP!
@aleacock – I can totally relate to your post. At one point on Saturday I felt quite overwhelmed and had a hard time trying to make sense of everything that was floating around in my head. I hadn’t really considered how often students might feel the same way. Very interested to see where your Action Plan takes ya!