Taking it slow

Twenty-eight days of writing hasn’t quite panned out how I would have liked it to. While trying to be creative and show off my culinary skills in the kitchen, I succeeded in taking quite a large portion of skin off my thumb when slicing carrots. Hence for the last week or so I have had my hand in a sling and thumb bandaged up making me look like a great advertisement for hitchhiking.

Although still very tender, my doctor has allowed me to forgo the meaty bandages for a slim lined model. Thumb is still out of action but I am able to do a lot more than before and typing isn’t quite as hard.

Besides feeling rather silly about the whole thing, the hardest part about this ‘little’ accident was how frustrated I got not being able to do my everyday things. While dressing my wound, the nurse actually commented on the fact that until we can’t use a body part we don’t realise how vital that part is. I have been learning the hard way how often I use my right hand thumb!

Sheer frustration is all I can say. I had to rely on others to help me, simple things became quite hard to do and for someone who is quite stubborn and independent it drove me mad.

I had no idea how limiting my everyday life could be without one thumb. All those who have broken legs, arm wrist, etc will also understand this.  Obviously I am going to casually link my thumb incident into reflections on how we teach students. We all know students can find things challenging and hard and as teachers we are all aware of this. Or are we?

I could still do things, just not the way I would normally do them. I had to find alternative ways to tackle the everyday things, even writing (where I still can’t hold my pen the correct way). This really got me thinking. I see myself as a teacher who is aware that all students learn differently. I look at my lessons and try to see alternative ways some of my students may want to learn this. I am aware of students who may find certain subjects a challenge and try to find ways to engage. I am very aware having a child of my own who struggles to learn the ‘traditional’ way that we can’t ‘box’ a class into one way of learning or method of learning.

But was I truly making the most of this? I knew how frustrated and annoyed I was that I just couldn’t do it even though I knew how to do it or it was going to longer than I was used to. It got me wondering how often students feel like this. How often we rush them through reading or a maths task because we want to get finished. But for them it may take a little longer to get there. How often do we read the visual clues from students that might show they are trying to get there but it might take a little longer than we are happy to wait? How often are we dictated by the clock or day to get things done?

I guess I am just wondering why we have to rush through the day, plan our life’s for the week and term and squeeze everything in. Would it really matter is a lesson or topic took more than the allocated ‘set’ time?