Do you see things differently?

Do you see things differently?

In a previous article I talked about how something had dramatically changed me and how I saw things differently, which got me thinking about another event.

I was teaching a class of rising seven-year olds. It was that time of the year when I had parent consultations. This is when you report to the parent on their child’s progress on each of the core subjects, plus a humanity subject, physical education and social and emotional development. You were expected to set each child three targets, so the parents would know where their child is at and what needs working on in the future.

Usually parents are very committed, happy and enthusiast to book the meeting and come, meet and chat with me. There was one mother where each time I booked an appointment, she would initially accept the appointment and she would either phone and cancel by leaving a message with the school secretary or she would not turn up. This was unusual.

It just so happened that one day after school, just after I dismissed the children, I spotted the mum in the playground. I walked over to her and said, ‘Would it be possible to meet to chat with you about your son’s progress?’ She replied explaining that she was sorry she hadn’t made the other meetings but it was difficult to get all her four children out the house, she couldn’t get a childminder so she would need to bring them with her and she reeled off a list of reasons why she hadn’t been able to make the previous five appointments. I reassured her that it was fine for her to bring her children with her. We finished the conversation and politely said our goodbyes.

I remember being in my early twenties thinking, it can’t be that difficult to get your children out the house. You put their coats on and walk out the front door — right! Having not been a parent then, I had no understanding of the concept of getting four young children out the house at the same time. I also remember thinking, I manage thirty children in one class all day, I’m sure I could get four children to a school meeting.

Having had my own children, I now realise there is a huge difference between a teacher in a school environment and being a mum at home. Children behave differently when they have many peers watching them and they know the teacher will report any concerns to the parent.

Growth changes perspective.

During that conversation the mother disclosed that she had a fear of school and would not even be able to enter the building. Her own personal experience as a child at school had left her traumatised as an adult.

It was at this point when I began to see the world through a different paradigm. This reminds me of a great story Stephen Covey recounts in his book called 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. In the story a man is on a bus with his three children who are misbehaving. The children are shouting and running around. The other passengers on the bus are becoming annoyed. One of the passengers goes up to the man and asks him to control his children and get them to behave, as it is annoying the other passengers. The father tells the man they have just come from the hospital and his wife, their mother has just passed away at the hospital. The father apologises and says that his children are so confused that they don’t know what to do with themselves and as a father he is completely numb with pain and sadness and doesn’t know what to do or think anymore. Immediately, the passenger has a complete shift of perspective, he has an altered paradigm.

As a child I remember thinking how old you must be at seventy years. I thought that seventy-year people did nothing and were waiting to die. However, when my mother died at seventy-three, I remember thinking how young she was. She was still driving, always busy socialising, going bowling regularly, meeting friends, shopping, housework and playing bridge. She was active all the time. I had a shift in how I saw a seventy-year old. I no longer see them as old people.

Growth changes perspective.

What things do you see differently? Is there an event or a time when you made that shift in the way you perceived something?

The same can be said about the way GradeBusters teaches Maths. It is not until parents become involved and see it for themselves that they realise there is a different way. May be not the way they were taught at school but a way that shows clarity and understanding about Maths, that they have never experienced before.

If you want to shift your perception of Maths, try the Parent Quest Course.

You won’t be able to see Maths the same way again.