Yes! There is a great sense of pride that comes from working through something difficult.
I'm going to share some more of my struggles with To Understand right now. :) Tell me what you all make of the information about Van Gogh on page 48 that says, "He became a blind painting machine... He no longer thought about his painting." I felt as if the example of Van Gogh was counterproductive. I wanted to hear about a painter who did think about his painting. Van Gogh struggled, but I got the idea from To Understand that he struggled due to his mental illness. I wanted a clear cut example of someone who struggled to understand and think and try again. The example of the kindergartener, Kevin, a few pages later was more satisfying for me. I LOVED that kid. I wanted more insight into how Kevin was taught to investigate so deeply. What have you all done to help students learn to look deeply and work to understand what interests them? I teach 8th grade, and when I shared my enthusiasm with my students last year about half of them rolled their eyes or giggled. Whew! That was hard on me. Jan -------------- Original message from [EMAIL PROTECTED]: -------------- > So often... we protect kids from struggle and they never develop self esteem > because they have never had to work thing through for themselves. I think if > we set up a very supportive, risk free yet rigorous environment, we would > have far fewer drop outs and far stronger citizens. > It IS possible...we just have to start trying these ideas out for > ourselves...talking about our struggles here on the list...share ideas for > setting up > that environment. I think....no...I know...we can make such a difference for > our students. > Jennifer _______________________________________________ Understand mailing list Understand@literacyworkshop.org http://literacyworkshop.org/mailman/listinfo/understand_literacyworkshop.org
