If a student isn’t learning what we are trying to teach them, we need to look at how we are teaching them instead of simply blaming them for not learning it.
I have known many children who have begun to think they are “dumb” or that they are “bad at math, reading, etc.…”. I get so sad when I hear a child say something like this because I can see how their struggles in learning are affecting their feelings of self-worth and self-confidence.
I don’t think the answer to this domino affect is to let a child move on without learning what they need to learn. This approach can hinder them down the road when they get to harder subjects, math problems, or situations in life.
The key here is for us as the educators and caregivers to take a step back and look at our methods and techniques and see how we can adjust and learn and grow in our abilities to teach a topic.
For example, if a child is struggling to learn to read, we need to take a step back and assess why. Is the environment too noisy? Is the book uninteresting to them? Did they miss a step in the process and don’t remember what certain letters are? Do they need more consistent practice?
It can be easy for us as educators and caregivers to get frustrated or discouraged when a student continues to struggle in an area of learning even with practice.
I am tempted to get discouraged when this happens, but I try to pause and remind myself that if it is discouraging to me it is most definitely frustrating to the child as well.
I need to be willing to ask:
What did we miss?
What can I change?
What can we review?
Who might have input here?
Everyone can struggle in learning. Some topics are harder for different students.
But we can remind ourselves and our students that we can do hard things!
~Julianna Druyor
Confident Calculator Tutoring, LLC
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