Image: Trey Ratcliff
Try to resist the temptation to subscribe to the baloney that positive and negative currents in a learning environment all start with the teacher. It's arrogant or in many cases just plain unfair to pin this on one individual in a group environment.
Whenever you step into a classroom, there is a current already there. Sometimes it is slow and subtle; other times it is obvious and in an almighty rush. It may be going in a positive or negative direction (relative to the potential for learning and development). It is often slightly invisible, moving beneath a very still and reflective surface.
So much of effective teaching has to do with currents. Which way is it going? Toss some leaves in and see which way they dart. Or meander.
If it is heading in the right direction, then dive right in and see where it goes.
Bear in mind, however, that there are group currents and individual movements within that current. Not everyone is moving in the central flow, with least hindrance and maximum speed. Avoid the temptation of spending all of your time in the middle where the current moves most effortlessly and conveniently. Don't turn a blind eye to those little eddies forming up and getting caught hard against the banks.
And beware the attraction of speed. The beauty of a stream is what and how it passes through, not where it ends up.
When it is (apparently) heading in the wrong direction, the challenge is to bridge it. It's heading left and you'd like to see it move right. Getting over to the other side of the current effectively reverses the relative direction of its flow. What was left is now right.
Learning something is (too) hard. Learning something is boring. Learning something is useless.
Bridge those currents and start with things that are easy, interesting and practical. Smash through whatever curricular cardboard you need to in order to make it happen. Sometimes you only need to facilitate one of those elements (ease, interest or practical relevance) and the bridge is built; you're on other side and the current has reversed.
Tip: Relationships and rapport make for outstanding bridge building materials.
Put your boat in. Off you go, then.
Patch up that curriculum stuff later.
It's only cardboard, after all.
Recyclable.
;-D
