I am not a teacher, but an awakener. ~ Robert Frost
I was born to be a teacher.
As a very young girl, I would line up my dolls, stuffed animals, siblings and friends (willing or unwilling) and ‘let’ them be my students. I don’t remember ever playing house; I always wanted to teach. Does that sound familiar?
Teachers are born with a desire to give others something they don’t have. I love the idea that we are ‘awakeners’. Our job is not to fill our students’ heads with facts and information, but to help them kindle the flame, to make them hunger for more.
The National Training Laboratories show how our students learn best. They have about a 5% retention rate when we just lecture. That jumps to just 10% when they read. But by adding in audio visual, such as music, video, photos, they are much more likely to remember what they learned.
The very best way to learn something, and to retain it, is to teach it to others.
Encourage your students to go home and tell three people what they learned in your class today. It will stay with them for a lifetime!