Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Being Prepared

Being Prepared
So one of the most important things in anything we do in life is being prepared. This is especially true for teachers, or when teaching something to someone. I am not saying every detail must be etched in stone from the beginning, as spontaneity is extremely important for keeping both students and teachers engaged. But good teachers will have contingencies simmering in their kettles of tricks in order to keep a learning experience that takes an unexpected turn from going bad, and scarring the students.

For example:

I was at the park after school with my youngest daughter Bella (8 going on 14) and our dog Tika. While Bella was playing with her friends I noticed a family fishing at the park pond. The mother looked to be in her early thirties and had two small kids; a girl maybe 18 months and a boy 4 years old. The father was in his early thirties also, and was showing his son how to fish. They were casting the rod with a bobber and reeling back in. What struck me strange was the father was wearing khaki slacks and a green, pin-striped polo shirt. I thought to myself “he doesn’t look like your typical fisherman??” but who am I to judge; maybe he just got off of work and met his family at the park.

About 15 minutes later a bunch of kids at the park were making a fuss and my daughter Bella ran over to see what was going on. Well, somehow the family caught a 24” catfish and the hook was stuck in its mouth. I am not a nosy person so I stayed back with Tika, and just kept an eye on Bella. The father seemed out of sorts and kids from the park were pouring water on the fish to try to keep it alive . Finally the mother had to ask me if I could get a hook out of a fish’s mouth. I, being the animal rescuer that I am (I told Bella she must now refer to me as Diego since I have saved a baby rabbit, a humming bird, a zebra, and now a fish) said “sure.”
Now I have been fishing maybe 100 times in my life, but I have only been fish catching 3 or 4 times in my life. The only thing I seem to be able to catch when fishing is mosquito bites. However, as a chef I have cleaned and filleted thousands of fish of all sizes and colors, so I felt pretty qualified at handling this fish. It took me two or three minutes, but I was able to remove the hook and send the fish safely back into the water.

The point is: why was the father teaching his son to fish if he wasn’t prepared to handle the catching and releasing of the fish. The mother said in the background “well I guess we will be retiring fishing.” As teachers it is good, even necessary for us to learn along with our students, but this father was a wreck, and may have ruined fishing for his kids forever.
When teaching something you aren’t experienced at take some time to practice by yourself a few times, or at least mentally run through the activity and try to anticipate any issues that may arise. “Frustration begins where knowledge ends” –Clinton Anderson.