How long can you hold your breath underwater? One minute at the most with lots of practice and do-overs. All you need is practice and encouragement.
Sometimes others have a hard time believing that we can do things unexpectedly. She can read? How did that happen? He is writing! I thought he’d never be able to. She’s finally talking! These are questions we’ve heard time and time again. Even optimists have hidden fears that things might not work out in the end. Will I really be able to prepare my students in special education for the next grade or the next chapter in their lives?
How do we define mastery? How do we define smart? We need to be mindful of the students we are teaching and mindful towards ourselves by understanding that education is a long journey. It is unlimited.
In the end, we need to focus on the effort that is made and celebrate the small successes in school and life.
At the end of the day, we aren’t asking our students to push themselves beyond the realms of possibility. We are giving them opportunities to explore, decide, connect, enjoy, hate, transfer, and ponder. If the terms in Bloom’s taxonomy stick with our students and they go on to be happy capable, mindful, caring people who contribute positively to society, well then we’ve done a good job. But it is a culmination of all of their education and life experiences that I believe will get them there.
How can we help them in their journey? By giving children the opportunities and experiences they need while being mindful to their needs. Setting up situations where students can create goals for themselves that are attainable and in the Zone of Proximal Development and watch them shine!
I love watching this video for a multitude of reasons aside from it being exceptionally amazing. I don’t think Sulban could have imagined that he’d be able to do this at a young age. Given the right circumstances and personal goals, our kids can achieve beyond the realms of possibility.
The Eclectic Teacher 