The Right Amount of Help

So, yesterday I started teaching them a similar lesson that I taught the other groups. We went over digital ethics, with simpler language. Then we did a get-to-know you activity. As we shifted into creating slideshows, a boy asked me how to spell Sponge Bob. As he hunted around for the letters, I kept pointing them out to him. It was taking a long time. 

Finally, he said, "I'm not going to learn where the letters are if you tell me each time." 

One of the hardest things to know as a teacher is when to help and when to step back and watch. Teaching with such a different context for one class period is helping me to see this. 

I'm realizing that my impatience often leads me to over-help with kids who are struggling while offering less help with the students who are excelling. The fast-paced, independent nature of gifted education worked well for me. It's harder to offer the same level of independent practice for students who need to wrestle with things that, at first glance, feel "easy." 

I also know that it's not that easy. Every students needs help. Teachers matter. Feedback is important. Learning is relational and not entirely independent. Letting go and never helping doesn't do much for kids. Really. So, helping "just enough" can be tricky. 

That's why, for all the talk of flipping and personalized videos, the teacher will always matter. It's a relational endeavor and no algorithm can determine when a kid is saying, "I'm bored" and "I need help" and "I'm not going to learn the letters if you tell me each time."