Yesterday I had a group of kids in my room ready for an outdoor field trip to conduct some local stream water testing. We had a few minutes before we were scheduled to walk to the park, and dark clouds gathered outside the window joining the sunshine and blue skies.
"Do you think it will rain?" a student asked me.
"Do you think it will rain?" I replied.
He and several other kids responded; it seemed like an even split of yeses and nos.
"Sounds like we have some pessimists here," I commented.
"Huh?" someone said, and scanning the room, I realized that she was not the only student unfamiliar with the term.
Forgive me for resorting to the obvious, but I drew a glass on the chalk board along with a line to show that there was liquid to the halfway point. "There!" I pronounced. "Is this glass half-empty or is it half-full?"
Just as with the weather, there was a pretty even split as the kids called out what they saw, although a couple savvy students answered, "Both!".
"Everyone's right," I said. "It's all about whether you look at what you have or what you're missing... have... missing... have... missing," I chanted as I pointed at the bottom and top of my illustration. "What kind of person are you?" I asked as I checked the clock and saw we still had a few more minutes before it was time to go.
And then Brandon had a total breakthrough. A spark ignited in his eyes and his body literally jerked. "I get it!" he said. "I get it!" he repeated to the kid next to him, and the understanding was clearly very profound. "Why can't you teach all of our classes?" he said to me. "The other teachers are--"
"Half full!" I reminded him.
"Exactly!" he answered, which was not quite the lesson I had in mind.
"Do you think it will rain?" a student asked me.
"Do you think it will rain?" I replied.
He and several other kids responded; it seemed like an even split of yeses and nos.
"Sounds like we have some pessimists here," I commented.
"Huh?" someone said, and scanning the room, I realized that she was not the only student unfamiliar with the term.
Forgive me for resorting to the obvious, but I drew a glass on the chalk board along with a line to show that there was liquid to the halfway point. "There!" I pronounced. "Is this glass half-empty or is it half-full?"
Just as with the weather, there was a pretty even split as the kids called out what they saw, although a couple savvy students answered, "Both!".
"Everyone's right," I said. "It's all about whether you look at what you have or what you're missing... have... missing... have... missing," I chanted as I pointed at the bottom and top of my illustration. "What kind of person are you?" I asked as I checked the clock and saw we still had a few more minutes before it was time to go.
And then Brandon had a total breakthrough. A spark ignited in his eyes and his body literally jerked. "I get it!" he said. "I get it!" he repeated to the kid next to him, and the understanding was clearly very profound. "Why can't you teach all of our classes?" he said to me. "The other teachers are--"
"Half full!" I reminded him.
"Exactly!" he answered, which was not quite the lesson I had in mind.
Congratulations! As I recall from my time as a TA, those breakthrough moments are what it's all about.
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