A Teaching Life

Nan-in invites us to “empty our cup.” To put aside our assurances, ideas we insist others know no matter how they respond. We are to wait long enough, to know when and what we want to say. Then, say it well.

In their eagerness to educate, some teachers “overfill their cup.” They feel they must tell students what they need to learn forgetting that learning takes engagement, sharing, conversation. In the rush to deliver what needs to be covered, perhaps to keep up with colleagues in adjacent classrooms, they talk on and on, not realizing that it likely will not be absorbed by all. Hence, the results on Friday’s tests reveal a bell curve, often the same students in the same place each time.

Think about that.