What I hope people say most about me is that I’m a good teacher. Overall, I was a pretty good student. I skipped class once in high school to attend a concert.
Mom wrote me a note so I guess that doesn’t count as skipping class, does it?
My dad was an engineer by training but he was a doer not a teacher. I grew up in the era of New Math, which drove dad crazy. And…he was a bit short on patience. Every session ended with him grabbing my book and working out the problem for me.
That worked out great for dad, who learned New Math without the pressure of pop quizzes or grades, but I didn’t get anything out of it. As much as I love my dad, I didn’t learn anything until I started doing my homework, leaving the hard questions to last, then asking dad for help.
I was a solid B+ student without putting in a lot of studying. I went to class, took notes, read the material, did the homework. Maybe an assignment or two required some additional effort. Overall, school work was pretty easy for me. I did go attend public school in the US, so you know, take that statement with a grain of salt. 😉
There was one class I worked very hard for: geometry. I put in hours of study and had three tutors. I just didn’t get it. I needed an explanation that would make the lightbulb in my head go off. That never happened.
Geometry was the only class I flunked in my entire scholastic career. I got an F the first semester and the teacher acknowledged the effort I put in trying to grasp geometry and gave me a D for the second semester. My grades meant no advanced placement classes in my senior year and advanced algebra instead of algebra/trig.
The lesson I learned: you have to teach material in a way the learner can absorb and use on their own. Or as my friend Candace says, “Teach them to fish.”
This is always at the back of my mind when someone asks me for help. I try to find their lightbulb moment.
What do you hope people to say about you? Leave a comment below and share your story.