Instruction does much, but encouragement, everything. – Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
The start of the academic new year, Spidey thought it warranted a quote regarding education.
I like the thought behind this quote. In fact, I live it.
I am a totally firm believer that we can teach a child, or rather try to teach a child all that he needs to know, but without that warmth and encouragement, they may not ever really ‘get it’.
It’s not a case of rote learning, nowadays. There are many aspects of a curriculum that we have to teach children, and we can write on a board, we can get children to copy theory into their books, we can throw worksheets about like the next person, give homework and spend time marking it all, rewarding with ticks and chastising with crosses.
But that ‘instruction’ alone is not enough for many children. The confidence to try something new, to make a mistake before being corrected, it is all quite a scary process.
And as educators, it is our responsibility to not just teach, but to encourage all our class members, whether they are whizzing through work, or if they are struggling, and not forgetting those that are ‘managing’.
I think back to my school days, and the teachers that I remember are the ones who were always there, by my side, saying “You can do it!”, “Try this” or “Have a go”.
That encouragement and faith in me pushed me to get my GCSE’s, and A-Levels, and go on to get my degree.
Now, as a teacher, I may not be teaching the upper echelons of the school ladder. In fact, I am laying the foundations.
My job is to give these tiny 3-4-year-olds a firm base for the schooling they are going to receive in the future, to teach them to love school, and encourage them to try their best, whatever their best may be.
I want to ignite a passion for learning, a thirst for knowledge, that they understand with be quenched when they go to school. My wish is to send these tots off at the end of the year with an excitement for ‘Big School’, so the more encouragement I can give them, the better.
Every scribble will be cheered, every instance of sharing will be lauded, each day with no tears will be prized. Each sound they learn, every time they count whether correctly or not, every story their imagination plays out in that home corner, will be a moment to celebrate.
It doesn’t sound too academic, right? But if you can’t share, mix with others, separate from your carer without tears, how can you step into an environment to learn?
We encourage these very traits at the beginning, and once we have secure children, we begin to ‘teach’. Some will be secure straight away, some may not feel that security until much later, but the biggest thing is to get that security first.
Once these children can trust us, we can mould them, with our encouragement, and create vessels that are waiting to be filled, like books with pages void of words, waiting to be written in.
And they’re ready for that next step in their academic life….
Have a restful, blessed Sunday Peeps!
