The Light Bulb

I recently experienced trying to teach my four-and-a-half-month-old to eat from a spoon.  Sounds pretty basic, right?

It was a disaster.

At first.

It was a Friday night, and I was sooo excited for this huge :) event in my daughter's life.  She'd practiced sitting in her high chair and has great head control... so, with the recommendation from the pediatrician, we were ready to try rice cereal.  We pulled out the bibs and baby spoons and two different cameras (we had to take pictures AND video, of course!) - and she HATED it.  She fussed, and cried, and eventually screamed.  Poor girl had a giant eating utensil coming toward her and was expected to just KNOW to open her mouth and ingest the food.  We eventually gave up, put the cameras away, and decided we'd try again tomorrow.

Enter Saturday.  Same characters, same props, same scene - ENTIRELY different ending.  She did GREAT!!  Lo and behold she actually enjoyed the process the second time around.  She smiled and made her happy little noises, opened her mouth when the spoon "airplaned" toward her, and successfully managed to eat a few spoonfuls (while also getting quite a bit up her nose, in her ear, and all over me).

This whole process got me thinking about our job as educators.  I mean, we all know we "teach" - but have we ever really thought about what a huge responsibility it is?

Being a parent is agreeably the most incredible, most important job I'll ever have.  The lessons I'll need to teach my daughter will be far greater than eating off of a spoon.  But the whole rice cereal saga got me thinking about how amazing it really is to be teaching her something for the very first time.  Something I, as an adult, take for granted.

When our students enter our school, they are relying on us, depending on us to give them the knowledge they need to be successful.  Some days are better than others.  Some days they're "fussy" and not really ready to soak in the information we have to share - and some days they're actually hungry, and ready, and all of a sudden the light bulb goes off.

I think that's what we - educators - live for... the light bulb.

Sometimes the light bulb goes off right away, sometimes it's a little more delayed.  Sometimes the light bulb goes off faster for one child in one subject, but not another.  It is our job, as educators, to instill in ourselves the stick-to-itiveness to keep teaching until the light bulb is lit - even more challenging is the task of instilling in our students the stick-to-itiveness to keep trying until they "get it."

But practice makes perfect.  And a positive attitude can make all the difference.

When my daughter was crying and refusing to even TRY to eat off of a spoon, my husband and I kept smiling, kept giving her pep talks, and tried to keep the atmosphere positive.

Sure, it may be laughable to imagine us putting THAT much forethought into a tablespoon of rice cereal.  And sure, it may be a stretch to compare spoon-feeding with teaching fractions.

But to me, teaching is teaching and learning is learning.  During these last few long winter months, don't forget how important it is to stick-to-it, keep the encouragement rolling, and be persistent - eventually, the entire school will be well-lit. :)

Don't Forget!
*Now - March 16th - ACCESS Testing
*February 28th - March 13th - QSP Magazine Fundraiser
*March 1st - 30th - Extend 1 Field Testing
*March 2nd - Dr. Seuss's Birthday!  Staff members dress up as their favorite book character!
*March 2nd - 4th Content Writing Due
*March 6th - Multicultural Night
*March 15th - Kathy Bryant visits PLCs
*March 26th - March 29th - 3rd Quarter Testing