CHAPTER 17: PROFESSIONAL DRIFT (in progress)

Over the years ...

Half way along the arc of my teaching career I was invited to work as a photographer with a journalist writing an outdoor adventure article about river rafting with the company that was the first to conquer the Ganges River at high water and live to tell the story.

I was impressed by the river pilots and guides who seemed to have intimate knowledge of every stone along our 10 day journey.  It was dangerous and exciting but we were in good hands, not to mention that they were gourmet chefs as well.

By our third day on the river I let it be known that wanted to get behind the oars and pilot our raft.  I learned that there’d be a safer stretch of river in two days that would be perfect for my first lesson. I waited impatiently.

The water was calm. I was excited, filled with anticipation as I listened carefully to my expert instructor.  I was shown a “middle position”, oar blades parallel to the water.  Then I was to rotate the blades 90 degrees, raise my hands four or 5 inches, and pull.  I was a quick study. Soon we were floating down stream with my teacher calling “left” or “right” to position our raft around the downstream boulder. It felt great until the water suddenly picked up speed and the next boulder seemed to be coming way too fast.

In my panic, I missed raising my right hand the full five inches before pulling on the oar.  Without water resistance, my right hand collided with my face, quickly came the taste of blood. What a rookie move, but my teacher was right there to correct my mistake without making me feel like a complete fool.  I’d forgotten how it feels to be a beginner.

The next week back at school, I was teaching HTML to my computer class.

One kid was having a particularly difficult time.  My eyes were well trained by this time to look for the necessary tools located in various places on the monitor.  He was very slow to pick up the next move.

Then I remembered the taste of blood from my river trip and how my fist bloddied my own mouth.  There, I realized that my work with this learner needed a reset.  That I needed to be more like my river patient river rafting instructor.

Once I reframed my teaching, I was amazed at how quickly my student caught on without an impatient teacher complicating an already complex task.

This is an example of professional drift in teaching.  So easy to forget the frustrations and mistakes of being a beginner.  I needed a bloodied mouth to remind me. My students now had a better teacher.