Teach Effectively!

Elona Hartjes had a delightful and insightful post, one of many, on her blog some time ago. In the post she explains how she took an important lesson from a book she happened to read in a bookstore. She applies the lesson to her teaching.

Don’t blame the lettuce. What? Earlier this week, I was in my local book store poking around in the books on a table at the back of the store, and I came across Thich Nhat Hanh’s book Peace Is Every Step. I picked it up, opened it at page 78 and started to read

When you plant lettuce, if it does not grow well, you don’t blame the lettuce. You look into reasons it is not doing well. It may need fertilizer, or more water, or less sun. You never blame the lettuce. Yet if we have problems with our friends or our family, we blame the other person. But if we know how to take care of them, they will grow well, like lettuce. Blaming has no positive effect at all, nor does trying to persuade using reason and argument. That is my experience. No blame, no reasoning, no argument, just understanding. If you understand, and you show that you understand, you can love, and the situation will change.

Since I’m an avid gardener, this caught my eye. It’s true. I don’t blame a plant when it doesn’t grow well. Why would I? It’s also true that blaming family and friends when I have a problem doesn’t help much either. Hanh’s got that right!

Read the rest of Ms. Hartjes’ post. Link to “Don’t Blame the Lettuce.” For those who are not familiar with Ms. Hartjes’ blog, Teachers at Risk, it is a compilation of her experiences as a special education teacher—one who’s received professional recognition for her efforts—and it is chocked full of worthwhile posts.