My Next Epiphany - Why I am Here

Nice to know I can have as many epiphanies as I want.  A friend in Canada sent me this TED TALK. Although it is somewhat outdated, it fits the message I am working to deliver to the teachers here.  I think it might just fit in nicely during Ramadan when their energy is low, but professional development is still required.  Watching this video just might be the glue that holds together all the messages I have given them for the past three years.

Although we westerners have been teaching the student centred methodology for years; over here it is a new concept.  Engaging the students in interactive activities, nudging them out of their comfort zones, and incorporating kinaesthetic learning are just a few of the changes these teachers have been witness to.

Laced with humour and real life experiences, Sir Ken Robinson reminds us of the importance of acknowledging students various talents and allowing them to develop them.  From his nativity recital of the three wise men, and Frank sent this line, we see that children will do what it takes to make sense of what they do not know. I personally have a story about a similar event. I had managed to slip into a Catholic school system when I was a young teacher.  I taught kindergarten, and knew it would not damage the young catholic children with my lack of understanding of their religion.  They had a prayer to the virgin Mary that had a line - Hail Mary, full of grace - blessed is the fruit of they womb.  The children could not understand that abstract concept, so they traded the word GRACE and used the word GRAPES - after all they were talking about fruit, right? We, as the teachers, teach that skill out of them so that they can no longer take a stab at the unknown. They fit our mold.  We need to let them seek knowledge in their own way if we want to see their talents demonstrated as adults.

I have two grown children. One who has moved in the direction of managing people and projects. The other, fairly similar to his mother, manages things. The one who has not done the people managing role has taken is talents much further than I could ever imagine doing myself. We talk often about this, and, like myself, he cannot imagine sitting in an office day after day. What he has done is taken his office to the bottom of the ocean. Far beyond anything I could ever have done, he has seen more, done more, and experienced more than most of us on earth ever will. He is half my age and triple the person I will ever become. As for my daughter, I cannot even imagine doing what she does. Yes, I manage people and projects, but sitting at a desk day after day would kill me. I need the blend of freedom from a desk and using my intellect to mentor others. I need physical action in my work. That job does not have a desk.  I encouraged both of them to follow their passion. They did. In this 21st century we are going to see many more careers paths than ever before. If we do not encourage the young to follow their dreams, they will take jobs that are unsuitable, and worse - fail at those jobs because there is no passion.

On another note - ADHD.  We give every difference an excuse with a medical term these days. Why not look at the situation and see what is causing it instead. Maybe, like the dancer in the recording you will listen to, the child needs to release some creative energy.

I hope you enjoy this:

Frank sent this and other epiphanies