RESPONDING WITH WONDERMENT AND AWE
A teacher’s perspective
My WOW! moment came when I was introducing the Habits to my grade 5/6 students. They were keen and enthusiastic, as I was, and were really taken with the notion of the Habits. I set them a simple homework task – think of someone who is a hero to you, someone you look up to and admire. Put a photo of them in the middle of your page, and then use the Habits sheet to select those Habits that this hero exhibits and some examples of how and when they have done this. They chose sporting heroes, pop stars and singers and Mums and brothers and sisters. They were encouraged to present it in any way they chose, using a variety of different mediums.
When I finally received all of these masterpieces, I was blown away! The quality was outstanding, the effort they had put into it was phenomenal and they were incredibly insightful. I had to tell them that they had just presented me with some of the best work I had ever received from any of them. Their ability to know their subjects and then link these to the habits was amazing. Thao said her Mum exhibited Finding Humour, because recently her little brother had been locked in a public toilet and her Mum had managed to laugh and see the funny side of this and also keep her little brother amused until help arrived.
Summer thought that Pink exhibited Persistence and Taking Responsible Risks, because she wasn’t afraid to come out with views that were different to others’ and stood by her opinions.
Tuan told the story of his older brother exhibiting the habit of Thinking Interdependently, because when he and his brothers played a game and got stuck on a part, they all thought of a solution together.
Jennifer thought her Mum exhibited the habit of Creating, Innovating and Imaging, because when there was a disgusting smell in the kitchen, she would put a pot of coffee on the stove because she didn’t like using normal air fresheners.
The standard of work and the enthusiasm was high and it seemed a shame to stop it there, so with a little persuasion it was agreed that the following week’s homework would be to prepare for an oral presentation on their hero. I prepared a rubric (attached) and assessed each student according to content, knowledge and relevance to HOM, eye contact, etc , as well as including a Peer Evaluation where other students gave constructive feedback on a peer. These were also incredible:
Verity said, “Shannon, maybe you could work on the volume and pace.”
Tyla said, “ Jacob, you needed more detail. You could get little cards to write on so you don’t have to read from your books.”
Phuong said, “Hung, I think you should work on more eye contact.”
Duy said, “Branden, you kept on saying –Um – and it was annoying.”
They were incredibly intuitive and supportive of each other, but absolutely spot on with their evaluations.
What I learnt from this exercise was to never underestimate the ability of my kids and it also gave me an insight into how empowering the Habits can be. My students now use HOM language across the curriculum and it is a delight to hear them speak so confidently. It has given them power! WOW!
Gail Shaw
Sunshine North Primary School