I was just about to drive home when I got the text from my mom. The text simply said, "we have math tears." Since my mom watches my children after school and since I knew one of them had homework due the next day, I already knew which kid this was about and I also knew why the tears were happening. Both of my children are pretty sharp when it comes to math, but there is also a threshold. I've noticed, the later it gets in the day, the harder it is to focus and get otherwise easy homework done. It can be REALLY hard to persist through this when you work so hard all day and just need a chance for your brain to rest. Being the sane mom (for once- thank you dear lord that my own tank wasn't empty when I came home), that is exactly what I suggested. So on the particular night of this story, my really frustrated child took an early nap. Woke up. Life continued.
Being tired isn't the only roadblock that a child will hit though. Sometimes the content is difficult and you need to work through the strategies in your tool belt to get through it. Supporting your child to do that, when it would be way easier to just tell them how or give them the answer, is hard. Struggles are good though; that's actually how real learning happens. Various studies echo this (read anything about grit, growth mindset, and theories of learning). However, knowing that struggle is good for you and appreciating the struggle while you are in it, are two different things. When things are really tough and I'm watching the failure unfold, I simply say, "I love watching you learn." I say it because it is true and because it gives us ground to talk about what is going on and where we need to go.
The same is true for adult learners. Recently, the staff at my campus was asked to complete an individual blogging reflection task for our year-long staff project. For some, writing is as natural as breathing. For others, writing is something that some said they hadn't really done since college. I imagine that for some, there may have even been writing tears. I hope there weren't. What I can say with confidence though, is that I loved watching our staff learn. Some people shared stories of how they thought a strategy would go one way for their learners but they figured out they needed to frame things in a different way to get the outcome they were looking for. Some people were able to talk about what things were like earlier in their career and how they had changed their perceptions over time. Some talked about trying something out and getting that really sweet taste of success. It kind of didn't matter the outcome, I just really loved watching them learn.
**Curious to learn more about our year-long staff project? Stay tuned! More posts ahead on how we started a conversation based on vertical teaming but ended up in a conversation on developing student success through learning outcomes. Project Code Name: #savedbythepbl
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