Foolish Things

"I have learned, over the years, to listen more attentively when students speak, and to take what they say-- even the 'foolish' things-- seriously." Parini, pg. 139

As students/educators I think we can often get caught up in sharing the knowledge we've gained. We're so eager to share what we know or what we're passionate about that we can over-prepare and plan each class period so tightly that there isn't much room for "foolish things."
Now- I've heard many young teachers (and not so young teachers, as well) attempt to take immature or simple questions and try to show "appreciation" that the student said anything at all. But often they have that "tone," the "Very good! But I think what we're really trying to get at is...." which sometimes, depending on the delivery, makes it very obvious that he or she didn't really mean the "very good" at all. I've seen it work, I've seen it flop.

I think what I'm trying to get at here (thank goodness this is a blog and by nature...a place where rambling is somewhat welcome) that when you make the transition between teacher and student- there needs to be a shift in mindset. You are no longer concerned with your own mental stimulation or your own ability to voice your knowledge or even the other "smart and interesting kids" in the room, but you should prepare a class to help the students showcase what THEY know and help them think aloud, together, and gain an appreciate and understand for the process of learning. Parini says: "...make the classroom a place where good things happen" (111). The focus isn't on you being fabulous or popular or intelligent (although those are fun things to achieve as a teacher) but rather on the classroom. To me, this means the people sitting there- perhaps willingly, perhaps not.

It's an interesting shift that must occur- but I think a vital one. Maybe this is so natural for some of you that you've never had to think about it before. I think some of us (certainly me) can benefit from making sure we're there to include every student in the learning process and not just offer the easy ones some things we've learned along the way.