In the latter part of September, 1962, after a long day
teaching Mathematics to middle schoolers, Mr. Shiers begins his open classroom
time, a time that he can devote to helping students struggling with the
material. One of the subjects that
Mr. Shiers teaches is SMSG Mathematics.
SMSG stands for School Mathematics Study Group and was a fairly recent
reform sparked by the Sputnik crisis in 1958.
One of his students, a 9th grader taking SMSG
Mathematics, nervously enters and takes a seat. The student is flummoxed by his inability to grasp the
concepts behind word problems. These are new to him. He feels anxious and depressed, thinking that somehow he is
not as clever as his classmates and embarrased by his ignorance. Mr. Shiers takes the time to discover
how the student is thinking about the problem and then patiently fills in the
gaps in the student’s understanding.
A light suddenly goes off in the student’s head and dispels the
darkness! A wonderful
understanding has suddenly appeared and the student gets one of the highest
marks on the next test.
As you might have guessed, that student was me. What sticks with me over the course of
the intervening years, 52 now, is the kindness of that teacher and the
gratitude which I feel towards him.
What better legacy can one have than to be remembered for an
act of kindness after more than 50 years?
Perhaps you remember the people in your life who made a
positive difference, be they family members or teachers or even strangers. Take some time to remember them, send
them thoughts of gratitude for what they did. It’s like receiving a warm hug; you can’t help but feel
better. And then, if you have an
opportunity, pass on that act of kindness to someone else. Who knows, perhaps 50 years from now
they will remember warmly what you did for them.
Thank you Mr. Shiers!
You were instrumental in my life.
Cheers!
Kevin
I do have a similar story learning French. For four years with an old style teacher, I worked hard to learn what I thought is unlearn-able language and I still got the lowest grades. I started doubting my learning ability of not only learning French but all other subjects. Until I met a native French teacher, Madame Lopez, who teach student having difficulty learning a new language. Lopez, like Mr. Shiers, took the time to discover how I was thinking about the problem and then patiently fills in the gaps in my understanding. Within 2 years I became the top student not only in French but in many other subjects as if she has a key to open my learning brain. I became so fluent in French. But more important I became fluent in learning all other subjects using the learning spirit she unlocked in me. Suddenly learning become easy and does not require much hard work.
ReplyDeleteSo after 40 years, I would say; Thank you Madame Lopez. You were instrumental in my life.
Jay
A beautiful tribute to Madame Lopez! And how fortunate that we were able to have people like her in our lives to show us the way to reaching our potentials.
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