A few weeks ago my family decided to go fishing at a local park. At the park there is a little sick where you can go fishing. However there is really only about three feet where you can fish with out getting all tangled in the weeds.
So as we were walking up to the dock I could see that there was an older gentleman with two grandkids. I knew right away that they were in that three foot space. Needless to say I wasn’t happy. I was ready to just not even try to go fishing but just go to the playground.
Fortunately, my wife was there and she advised me against just giving up. She told me it wasn’t about catching fish. It was more about him just fishing.
She couldn’t have been more correct. We had a blast. He caught his first fish all on his own. He even held on to it and put it in he water all on his own. The experience was amazing. When I got home though, I couldn’t stop thinking about how this experience relates to the classroom.
One thing in particular came to my mind that is stealing the struggle from students. As educators we all know what this means solving students problems for them.
Not allowing students to struggle and learn from their mistakes and he process hinders the child’s ability to grow.
Of course we should be there guiding our students, but we should control the process. Kids need to be able to take risks without the possibility of adults swooping in to save the days or avoid things all together.
I am so glad I went fishing that day.
dreaming big... 