My son hates getting his fingernails and toenails trimmed. He fights me every week when I attempt to trim away the longness. He's six and says, "Mommy, let me try". I give him the clippers and he tries his hardest. His little hands can't squeeze the clippers fully and he ends up shredding his nails; therefore I still do the trimming. I give him the chance to try but then I fix it.
This is just like teaching...We give our students the tools to complete the job but sometimes we hover over them and catch them immediately when they fail. Should we give them more time to process? Should we give them multiple chances when they "fail' to figure it out on their own? When do we take the reigns back?
These are questions I ask myself all the time. I want them to be successful but it pains me to see some of them when they fail and I want to fix it. I know we all learn from our mistakes so making them is a good thing, it's just so difficult at times to watch at times. I love watching the other students help them be successful and sometimes they don't even notice they've "failed". I know I have learned the most when I fail...How many times do I allow for "failure"?
So, will I allow my son to continue to "trim" his nails? YES! I will give him the clippers and possibly leave the room so I don't have the urge to intervene. He will one day learn how to trim his own nails like his sister, it just may be a longer road. Mamma needs to be patient both at home and at school...
This is just like teaching...We give our students the tools to complete the job but sometimes we hover over them and catch them immediately when they fail. Should we give them more time to process? Should we give them multiple chances when they "fail' to figure it out on their own? When do we take the reigns back?
These are questions I ask myself all the time. I want them to be successful but it pains me to see some of them when they fail and I want to fix it. I know we all learn from our mistakes so making them is a good thing, it's just so difficult at times to watch at times. I love watching the other students help them be successful and sometimes they don't even notice they've "failed". I know I have learned the most when I fail...How many times do I allow for "failure"?
So, will I allow my son to continue to "trim" his nails? YES! I will give him the clippers and possibly leave the room so I don't have the urge to intervene. He will one day learn how to trim his own nails like his sister, it just may be a longer road. Mamma needs to be patient both at home and at school...