For the month of March, I am participating in the Slice of Life Challenge, hosted by the community of writers at Two Writing Teachers. Many of my slices are at my personal blog, Just Write, Melanie, but ones that deal specifically with education appear here. All are welcome to join the slicing party by reading and commenting. People write amazing posts.
We have all tried to explain different ways of playing music in the kitchen to my mother. We have gotten her the Pandora app. We have put music on her phone. We have hooked her up to a Bluetooth speaker system. However, in a moment of panic and frustration, when her music wouldn't play, she went and bought herself a boombox yesterday.
"What is that?" my twelve year-old asked.
"Does it have a tape cassette deck, as well?" I asked.
My daughters missed the reference since they don't remember tapes, but my mother understood my teasing.
"I just want my CDs. They're comfortable, and I know how to use them," she said. "They work."
I understand her discomfort and I appreciate her resolution. I know many teachers who experience the frustration and incompetent feelings in their classrooms. We have so many new initiatives in our schools. New curriculum. New technology. New assessments.
As I think about my mother and the connection between her boombox and education, here are some parallels:
- she is intelligent (one of the smartest people I know, actually).
- she is motivated (she really wanted to listen to music).
- she has time (I'm never sure of how exactly she spends her days).
- she understands the purpose of the new technology.
But despite all that, she chose to give up, and go back to her old way. Hmmm.
My mother's boombox, as it sits on that counter, is a great reminder to me of how hard change can be.
So now, the motivation falls back on the teachers--my daughters, my husband, and I would definitely prefer playlists over opera and musical CDs, not to mention the fact that I don't like extra stuff on the counters. What new approach will we try to re-engage our learner? Stay tuned... (ha, ha!)
Happy Slicing,
Sometimes familiarity breeds comfort especially in this rapid changing era!
ReplyDeleteSometimes familiarity breeds comfort especially in this rapid changing era!
ReplyDeleteI love the connection you made to education. I think you're on to something here. What do we do for the kids who just want the boombox? They're still engaged, but it's just not our version of engagement. Hmmmm...
ReplyDeleteGreat slice!
Exploring new things is sometimes necessary, but when the old still does the trick we see no reason to embrace the new. I know I'm a little bit like that.
ReplyDeleteEnjoy! She's not trying to play eight track tapes or cassette tapes so rewinding squealing tapes will not be heard. (It could be worse!)
ReplyDeleteThis is a provocative slice --- just like Stacey indicated --- because of the connection you make to education. I was thinking about teachers though; what about the teachers who are brilliant but new initiatives don't make them feel so? This could be a slice from my experiences today....
ReplyDeleteThis is a provocative slice --- just like Stacey indicated --- because of the connection you make to education. I was thinking about teachers though; what about the teachers who are brilliant but new initiatives don't make them feel so? This could be a slice from my experiences today....
ReplyDeleteGreat connection, Melanie! I know how your mother feels and still sometimes play CDs in my office. At school, there are times I wish we still had overhead projectors. I think they have definite advantages over Smartboards!
ReplyDeleteThis is a great post. As a coach working as a change agent during this time when so much change monsoons over my teaching colleagues these days, it is important to remember how hard change can be. This is a great post. I am thinking much these days of Peter Johnston's Opening Minds, where he discusses Growth VS fixed mindsets. I wonder that in times of stress, as our teachers unfortunately face in spades....many people are much more likely to become more fixed in their mindset out of self-preservation. I try to keep that in mind. Thanks, as always, for the thoughtful post.
ReplyDelete