Classroom Lessons from the Master Teacher - Final Part

First of, apologies for the delay of this week's newsletter. I let life happen and so help me God, this wouldn't be a recurring theme. Amen. Now, let's get back to the matter at hand!

The last 3 newsletters were on lessons we could learn about the different soils, aka minds of students in our classrooms. I introduced you to the four types of students - the Footpath Student, the Rocky Soil Student, the Thorny Student, and the Good Soil Student. You can catch up here.

Then we looked at how to convert the Thorny Student to the Good Soil student. You can read up on that here.

Finally, we went into details on how we can convert the Rocky Soil student into the Good Soil student. And you can read that here.

Today, we're focusing on the most challenging of all (I think!) – converting the Footpath student to the Good Soil Student.

At the end of the first part, I asked, How do we transition our Footpath, Rocky Soil and Thorny students to become Good Soil students? We've answered for the last two; now, let's focus on the first one.

In Matthew 13:4, 19 in the New Living Translation, it reads,

4?As he scattered them across his field, some seeds fell on a footpath, and the birds came and ate them. 19?The seed that fell on the footpath represents those who hear the message about the Kingdom and don’t understand it. Then the evil one comes and snatches away the seed that was planted in their hearts.

The main trouble with the Footpath student, it seems, is quite straightforward. It is an absence of understanding. These are students whose work during the lesson or assessments make it seem as if you're a bad teacher.

It's like you are speaking Medieval Latin in a Yoruba lesson. Almost like you never communicated. Like they never were in the school building, talk less about being your classroom.

These ones are head-scratchers. I used to have a student like that in a top set math class I once taught.

If you looked at his book, you'd think I was the student. It very likely contained more teacher red pen doing one-to-one explanations with him virtually every lesson. He nods in agreement. I leave him and return later. And it's like I was just meeting him for the first time. In my life!

So, what do we do with these kinds of students? How can we help the Footpath student become a Good Soil student? Not that I have all the answers but here are some pointers that come to mind.

• Go back to basics. You can't build on a foundation that simply doesn't exist. In mathematics, this may mean going back to foundational arithmetic like addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division, number properties like factors and multiples, place values, etc. Even the Bible says the righteous can do nothing if the foundation be destroyed = not being able to hold the building.
• Focus on "understanding" with these students. Get them to explain the work to you or at least, to their peers, who shouldn't be more confused when they're done. Let them regularly repeat what you've explained back to you. Ask them questions at every step of the way. That's the only way your teaching is not going to go in one ear, out the other. Afterall, it is commonly said that if you can't teach something, you've not truly understood it.
• Reduce their minimum acceptable completion rates. Sometimes, the pressure to complete a certain number of tasks or write a certain number of words can hamper a student's understanding. If your class has to write 3 pages in 40 minutes, with this kind of student, completing half a page in the same time without writing gibberish, could be a win.

One translation describes the one who takes away the seed (knowledge) sown in their hearts as a "slanderer," and their mind as "the travelled road." In the context of teaching and learning, this can represent a deeply-rooted mindset about the perceived irrelevance of whatever is being learnt.

For example, students asking, When would I ever need algebra?

Their minds are already closed and already hardened to receiving that new knowledge. So work must be done, to recalibrate their minds to agreeing with the power of that new knowledge to transform their lives.

By at least getting good grades and having better or more opportunities in life.

Without understanding, no (lasting) progress in learning can be made.

Over to you, what do you think? Is there any thing you would add on transforming the Footpath student into a Good Soil student?

Let me know in the comments.

Next week, it will on to something newly gleaned about teaching and learning and all and any thing Education from the Bible.

And if you have enjoyed this article, please comment, like and share with your network. Have a non-footpath week ahead! ;)