I came to this realization when a friend told me about
traveling overseas with his young son.
The boy, who was around seven at the time, was finding it very
stressful. People didn’t speak his
language, and they kept expecting him to eat funny-looking food he’d never seen
before.
Then he discovered that anywhere he went, oh miracles of
miracles, he could ask for toast.
Toast! That crunchy and
tasty, familiar and filling king of the comfort foods. Well, if people ate toast here, maybe
this place wasn’t so scary, after all.
He was able to relax enough that he ended up having a great
time on their adventure.
Meanwhile, back at the ranch: I was volunteering at an ESOL program whose students were working as maids and
custodians, the sorts of physically-demanding, generally-unappreciated jobs
that keep our world running smoothly.
The program had serious attendance problems. The students weren’t paying for the
classes and weren’t graded, so we couldn't figure out how to motivate them.
(After teaching in Japan, I could
empathize. It’s not easy to learn
a new language as an adult, especially when you’re exhausted after working all
day in your native language.)
Here’s what finally clicked: One of the teachers made a big chart with all the students’ names on it. For each class they attended, they got to pick out a sticker and put it on the chart. And they got a small prize (like a pen or more stickers) if they had perfect attendance for a month.
Here’s what finally clicked: One of the teachers made a big chart with all the students’ names on it. For each class they attended, they got to pick out a sticker and put it on the chart. And they got a small prize (like a pen or more stickers) if they had perfect attendance for a month.
We joked with each other, “Isn’t it amazing what adults will
do in exchange for a sticker?”
But it wasn’t really about stickers, of course. It was the
fact that someone was acknowledging their efforts. And also the spirit of camaraderie as classmates cheered
each other on. “No way, José! You’ve had perfect attendance three
months in a row?”
A piece of bread, a “Job well done!” and thou. Sometimes it really is that simple.
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related posts:
Are You Trying to Solve the Wrong Problem?
When the Teacher is Ready, the Student Appears
related posts:
Are You Trying to Solve the Wrong Problem?
When the Teacher is Ready, the Student Appears
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