You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make it drink.
Now I’m no expert on horses, but there seems to be some
inherent problems with this phrase. First of all, if the horse is thirsty and
there’s water around, you can’t keep it from drinking. Thirsty horses drink.
Period. Second, if the horse isn’t thirsty, why
are you leading it to water? Quenched horses don’t drink. Lastly, if the horse
is thirsty but not drinking the water, then something is terribly wrong with the
water.
Obviously I think too much about clichés, but I’ve heard
this particular one used in reference to students. Students may be described as
apathetic, unwilling to work, unmotivated or uninterested in academics. Or unthirsty
horses, if you will. Many teachers see themselves as tirelessly leading these
unthirsty horses to the water over and over again only to have the cooling
waters of knowledge refused. Teachers wrestling with unengaged students turn to
fellow educators for tips and hear: “Well, you can lead a horse to water….”
Each summer, I spend two weeks in a room full of thirsty
horses; a group of engaged and dedicated educators. These teachers spend 14
days in a professional development course that leaves them drinking from a fire
hose. It is our job as the facilitators to bring buckets of water by way of
content knowledge and hands-on strategies. It is a thoroughly enjoyable
experience. Teachers know that feeling because thirsty horses are awfully fun
to teach.
Whatever the reason, teachers return to the classroom to find students unengaged -- or rather to find horses not drinking the water.
Our job as educators is to hydrate those horses. Here are my thoughts on how to
keep your horses thirsty:
- Ask what’s wrong with the water. Don’t get so busy that you forget to consider reasons that your students aren’t engaged. Perhaps they are full of water from a previous class and need time to digest. Perhaps they don’t recognize the water because they lack prior experience. Perhaps they are too busy thinking about food to realize they are thirsty. Perhaps your water is stale and could use some freshening up.
- Be thirsty yourself. With budgets tight it is harder than ever to find funding for professional development, but it is always worth the effort. Investing, both the money and the time in your professional growth pays off not only for you but also for your students. Seek out those opportunities that allow you to experience as a student. Solid professional development not only deepens your content knowledge, but also keeps you excited about the classroom.
- If you are full, leave the water alone. Find balance in your life. You are not just a teacher, or a parent, or a spouse or the chairperson of that committee. You are all of those things and you must not let any one responsibility overpower the other. If you are full, step away from the water.
- Hang out with other thirsty horses. There are unthirsty horses in the teachers' lounge too. Avoid them. Make an effort to spend time around other teachers who are determined to help students learn. You can identify the unthirsty teachers by noticing who says, “Well, you can lead a horse to water…..”
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