Why I Do What I Do

"I didn't know I could have a thought this big!" said the 6 year old in the group I was working with. He sat a little taller, eyes widening as he tried to hold back a smile. 

This is why I do what I do. Help children realize what they are capable of. Help them connect the dots of learning that often languish in silos. 

We had been working on helping the first graders know what they think they can say. A no-brainer to the likes of you and me but not as obvious to the 5 and 6 year olds newly indoctrinated into the school system. As we sit to discuss a large photo they sometimes revert to labeling the picture thinking this is what I, as the teacher, wants. Or they will start their 'sentence' the same way the child before them did, thinking this is how they will 'get it right'. So I pause, asked them to say more about what they are thinking, ask other students what they think about what was said. It's not a 'sentence' I am looking for. We don't think in sentences. We think. And I'm genuinely interested to know what these young humans are thinking. And when we have thought and talked, and thought and talked some more we then may write it down because what we think and say can be written, and someone, anyone can read that back. 

The pride that is captured by scribing a young person's thought is an honor to witness. 

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