Direction

I found today's Thought yesterday while reading a rather intriguing article on classroom management. I decided to pull this picture, as it's a really good visual representation of what the author is trying to say. As this chart says, when a teacher gets frustrated and angry, he or she has a choice: retaliate with punishment or push students in a new direction. Each of these options has a whole other set of outcomes, some positive, some negative.

Just a quick look at the flowchart shows me which option I'd choose. I think this flowchart really illustrates the benefits a shift in direction can bring. For instance, this past summer, a shift happened in my life. I moved six hours away from home for an internship, I discovered that my true calling is in the classroom and I made many new friends. This change in direction really helped me to see where I needed to go.

Have you changed direction? Maybe it was a big event in your life that sparked a revolution in your own thinking. Or maybe it was something very small that had far-reaching consequences, consequences you were unaware of at the time. I'm willing to bet that a change in direction has in some way resulted in growth by you. As this flowchart shows, redirecting students can avoid even more frustration and anger and instead lead to growth by both teacher and student. Take those times of frustration, those times where it doesn't seem worth it anymore, and look for a direction shift. Who knows, you might just find something amazing on the other side of a redirection.

Learn

As I move back to school today, I am reminded of why I'm here to begin with - I'm here to learn. Yoda seemed like a perfect fit for my attitude today. While it's true that learning can take place in the form of something completely new - a filling of a blank slate, if you will - the majority of the time learning involves 'unlearning' something else. Growth requires that something has to die in order for something new to take it's place.

Take this past semester for instance. I took an educational psychology class and one of the units was on test writing. Specifically, how to write a test so the answer isn't immediately obvious. If you have been a student, you probably know what I'm talking about. I loved the tests that you could answer one question by reading another question. It was almost too easy. Well, it was my goal to make sure that didn't happen. Going into the class, I thought I had it all figured out. I knew how to write a test, it's not that hard. Well, my work showed me otherwise. Little did I know I was just beginning the process of 'unlearning' my previous habits and practices in order to utilize better, newer practices.
Have you ever had an experience like this? Better yet, were you able to take the experience and learn from it? Perhaps you learned to take things with more openness, testing it before totally throwing it aside. That is something that I took from this lesson. Without unlearning, there can be no learning.