Practicing What I Preach

I’m fulfilling a bucket list item this summer; I’m learning how to sail my own boat. For several years now I have been sailing with friends, but this summer I’m learning the science, skills, and insights necessary to gain certification and skipper my own sailboat – and it has been challenging!

It looks so relaxing, and I’m hoping that one day it will be, when I don’t have to think so hard. But right now, I am constantly making decisions about wind directions, shifts, tacking, jibing, falling away, irons, docking, etc. It is both physically and mentally exhausting. And now that I’m moving beyond my anxiety of doing something horribly wrong, I’m actually starting to enjoy the process.

Every semester I preach the importance of repetition and automaticity. When we become frightened or anxious, the amygdala is fired up and the pre-frontal cortex, where cognition happens, is not working at full capacity. So it is very important to repeat a skill over and over so it becomes automatic and we no longer need to think so much about it. We also need to have a plan in place so that when challenges come up and we become anxious we are confident of what we should do and can react in a quick, decisive manner.

Sailing this summer has allowed me to practice the importance of what I always preach. After two weeks of frustration and anxiety, and wanting to throw in the towel at times, it’s starting to fall into place. I’m starting to relax and enjoy the process and challenges of sailing. I’m learning to celebrate frustration because it means I am very close to a breakthrough in understanding.

So what is it that your students are struggling with?  We think algebra is a cinch (well some of us may) so why is my student just not getting it? Spelling/reading comprehension/history/biology (you fill in the blank) is not that tough, why can’t my student understand it?  Because your student has not yet mastered the content as you have. Your student is still intimidated and overwhelmed. So how do we patiently continue to expose our students to opportunities to practice and clarify understanding? That is one of the great arts of teaching – keeping our students engaged so that they keep trying.

We need to encourage our students not to give up, to keep trying, to celebrate the frustration – because success is right around the corner!

This is also one of the reasons I believe it is so important for teachers to continue to take classes and learn new things. It provides us opportunities to be frustrated and challenged, and to remember what it is like to sit on the other side of the desk.

So my encouragement to you this summer is to try something new! Take up a new hobby or sign up for a class. In addition to learning something new, it may also enable you to be a more empathetic and engaging teacher.  As for me, I’m heading out for my final sailing class this afternoon – anchors away!