Had the opportunity to teach this lovely and adorable boy, J today. Did a writing assessment on him and we moved on to my English Guide book. Seems like a typical lesson, right? However, sometimes, children are our best teachers. What I love about my work, is the opportunity to accommodate and tailor make lessons for my students, to stretch their potential, definitely, but at the same time, I learn a lot from them.
I actually wanted to get him to turn the page quickly to start work, but he was staring at the page with a bright smile on his face. I slowed down my pace, and asked if he liked the bear. He nodded his head, and I decided there and then, to forego what I had planned for J initially, and to keep up with his pace and interest. It was a decision I did not regret. I asked him to name the bear, and with this simple question, it unleashed his creativity and excitement to not only name the bear, but to rattle on the description of the bear. He even chose colours to represent the different descriptions of the bear.
Final product. He was proud of his work and my cue to gauge he was done writing was his satisfied look on his face. That wrapped up the lesson beautifully. This actually taught me to smell the roses, and to also be sensitive of a child’s needs to learn meaningfully, at his/her pace, and not a teacher’s or parent’s pace.
I actually wanted to get him to turn the page quickly to start work, but he was staring at the page with a bright smile on his face. I slowed down my pace, and asked if he liked the bear. He nodded his head, and I decided there and then, to forego what I had planned for J initially, and to keep up with his pace and interest. It was a decision I did not regret. I asked him to name the bear, and with this simple question, it unleashed his creativity and excitement to not only name the bear, but to rattle on the description of the bear. He even chose colours to represent the different descriptions of the bear.
Final product. He was proud of his work and my cue to gauge he was done writing was his satisfied look on his face. That wrapped up the lesson beautifully. This actually taught me to smell the roses, and to also be sensitive of a child’s needs to learn meaningfully, at his/her pace, and not a teacher’s or parent’s pace.