Try something you’re really rubbish at
Do you have a memory from school that you totally cringe at? Something you were so awful at that you swore you’d never touch it again?
Baby Ticked Off teacher still remembers their art teacher holding up a piece of work from a ‘child in the other class’ and declaring that it was ‘the worst piece anyone had handed in’. With their name clearly permanent markered on the side and children sniggering around them, they vowed to never again even touch a Crayola crayon.
Fast forward, and today’s blog is coming to you from under a mound of shiny new drawing pencils and an ambitiously thick sketchbook. Teachers-in the main- enjoyed school, this one included. To become a teacher requires jumping through a near-decade of academic hoops and learning about a wide range of subjects and disciplines. Many of us have had a pretty easy time learning and are passionate about our jobs, this can actually make it harder to connect to our most difficult students.
I say ‘difficult student’ and one immediately pops into your head. The one that you see is full of promise and you don’t understand why they can’t just ‘get it’. My challenge to you is to try and improve at something you’re really rubbish at, whether that’s art, languages, sport etc. You’ll soon find that the hours spent creating your growth-mindset display didn’t make it all the way into your brain.
Remember the discomfort you feel, the inadequacy and sheer additional effort you have to put into something you don’t like and aren’t immediately good at. That is likely close to the experience of not just ‘that’ student, but of many others sitting in your classroom. Remind yourself of the successes and strategies in overcoming your own rubbishness and share them with your students. It’s a powerful exercise for educators to become empathetic learners.
Signed,
Ticked Off Teacher 