“Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.”
—Thomas Edison
When Thomas Edison was 7, his mom enrolled him in school. He only went for a few months because he was hyperactive, prone to distraction, and called difficult by his teacher. (His mom, a school teacher, pulled him out and taught him at home.) Thomas Edison went on to invent the telegraph, phonograph, light bulb, and he has thousands of patents.
At one of our school's summer PD sessions about relationship-building, a teacher said, "I ask myself, 'What if I'm teaching Thomas Edison?'"
At one of our school's summer PD sessions about relationship-building, a teacher said, "I ask myself, 'What if I'm teaching Thomas Edison?'"
We can't tell just by looking at a student what his instructional needs are. We also can't tell by a student's behavior.
What if you're teaching the next Thomas Edison?
Jennifer,
ReplyDeleteEven while teaching EFL in China, I try to keep this in mind when giving students chances to express their creativity and go outside of the box. Thank you for the reminder!
-Daniel