My younger one had been struggling with his subtraction homework for what seemed like hours, when I taught him a simple way to do it. His face lit up. “But this is so easy”, he said, “are you sure you are not fooling me?”
In the last week, he’s been taught three other ways of doing it, none of which works for him, but he doesn’t mind, because he’s able to get the correct answer.
Yes, each child is different, but shouldn’t teachers take the trouble to teach each child the way that suits him best, rather than confuse them?
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A drabble is a story told in exactly 100 words.
3 comments:
I agree with you 100%!! My daughter is slipping through the educational cracks and not learning math basics due to the fact that no one is willing to teach her in a way that she can understand. The "No Child Left Behind" Act only seems to mean that the teachers will no longer flunk a child whether they are learning or not. Sad!
I agree with you. I use to teach dance and teach the teachers how to teach dance. The one thing I always said was to be a good teacher you have to be able to explain something at least 10 different ways, because everyone understands differently. I even told my students when they didn't understand, that one time I would tell them how to do a step and it will suddenly click. Then they will look at me and say "why didn't you say that to began with?" And they always did...
Pamela Jo
Natasha - One of the most important things I think we can teach children is how to think for themselves and make wise choices. They can't learn that if they don't have alternatives from which they can choose. They also can't learn that if they don't have the opportunity to try a way of doing something and see whether it works for them. Teachers who teach only rote ways of doing things without helping students learn to choose ways that work are missing a vital piece of what makes for mature adult thinking.
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