Slice of Life- I love the message within this video!

Every Tuesday, the writing community of Two Writing Teachers hosts Slice of Life. All are welcome to participate by linking up posts or commenting on other participants. 

A couple of years ago, some presenters who I admire very much (Clare and Tammy, I'm looking at you!) shared how they like to begin professional development with a video. Since then, I have tried to do that whenever it works. 

Next week, I'll be presenting to the people in our district who are hired to work closely with individual students. I worked with this group last year, as well, and I sent a strong message to them to work hard to move away from their students. Try to determine where along the learning progression students can function INDEPENDENTLY, and work to modify their tasks so that the tasks are along the continuum, but just a touch ahead of where the student can work without an adult every step of the way. 

Today, I came across this video, and I can't wait to share it. 

It's only two minutes long, and you can skip through it and still get the gist. I can't wait to facilitate the discussion! I'm thinking about the following questions:

• What would happen if he missed any of the steps along the way?
• How is he feeling at each step, at each stage?
• How would an adult feel if he first started with the hill and they had to spot him?

AND

• How does this relate to our writers?

Sometimes we come across exactly what we need, and I think I found it. I'm hoping that I'm right!

Happy Slicing!

Slice of Life: The methodology of parking--and other things...

Every Tuesday, the writing community of Two Writing Teachers hosts Slice of Life. All are welcome to participate by linking up posts or commenting on other participants. 

So my youngest daughter is learning to drive. Actually, she is scheduled to get her license. Soon. Over the weekend, I took her to a parking lot so she could practice her parking.

"I have to line up my shoulders to the center of the spot," she informed me. "Then I turn the wheel all the way."

Each parking job was an accomplishment. Seriously.

How about just learning what the car does when you maneuver it, I wanted to say. I didn't though. 

Instead, I went home and watched the videos from The Next Street driving school that offered new drivers precise instructions on lining up shoulders, watching lines in side mirrors, and assuming backward posture. 

I woke up early this morning and couldn't go back to sleep, as I was thinking about a million different things including what I'd write for today's post. In the clutter of thoughts, I remembered a conversation I had on a hallway floor with Kate Roberts at the annual NCTE conference a couple, maybe even a few, years ago. Katherine Bomer's book, A Journey of Thought, had just come out, and I was really struggling with the concepts of the five paragraph essay. 

"We need a structure when we're learning new things," I remember Kate saying. "Then we can experiment and make it our own."

My older daughte reminded me that she needed the parking methodology when she first started driving. "I don't need it anymore," Clare said. "Now I just park."

So much of learning requires a structure. We just have to make sure we get learners to that place where, like Clare and parking,  they don't need it and just do it. 

Happy Slicing,