The Importance of Working with Perception
By H. Stephen Glenn
from the book Raising Self-Reliant Children in a Self-Indulgent World

 
In an age of diversity it is important for teachers and parents to respect the uniqueness of human perception. We need to avoid judging students or evaluating their responses without taking the time to find out their point of view.

Much of the curriculum and some teachers assumptions tend to reflect middle and upper-middle-class life styles and backgrounds. Because of that, many educators unintentionally discourage children whose perceptions are different from those of the average or typical student.

Willie is a little boy who comes from a racial, ethnic, minority setting where his mother lives below the poverty level on welfare. Willie was bussed across town to be in a classroom with a teacher, Mrs. Jefferson, who had a very different life experience. She was raised in an upper-middle-class home, married into an upper- middle-class income, and went through a teacher training institution in one of the more advantaged parts of the country. Mrs. Jefferson had no idea of the reality for this little boy, Willie. She had been taught that kids should respond in certain ways. She was not trained to inspire people who learned in different ways. She did not know how to adapt curriculum to the realities of children.
Actually, that is the way many teachers are trained. Instead of taking time to train artists (and teaching is an art) teachers are trained to be technicians who implement curriculum. The results are as follows:

Mrs. Jefferson was teaching a lesson on the alphabet. She asked, "Willie, what comes after 'A'?"

Willie said, "P," very assertively and confidently.

She said, "No, that's wrong. What comes after 'A'?"

She was standing over him in a posture that was judgmental, threatening, and discounting. Willie probably thought, "Well, my first shot missed, why bother. Who wants to be wrong all the time?" So he said, with most of his assertiveness and confidence gone, "I don't know."

Mrs. Jefferson said, "I am going to give you one more chance. What comes after 'B'?"

Willie did not realize his whole first grade career depended on the next moment. He felt hopeful about being given another chance. He was sure he knew the answer and said, "A." Mrs. Jefferson sounded very annoyed as she said, "You are not listening. The first question I asked was what comes after 'A'. Now I'm asking what comes after 'B'?"

Fortunately, the school was working on collaborative instruction and increasing dialogue in the classroom so a mentor teacher was in the room to demonstrate how to work with perceptions. At that point the lesson was delayed.

The mentor teacher got down on one knee so he was eye level with Willie and asked the boy, "Willie, a minute ago, your teacher said, What comes after 'A' and you said 'P'. What were you thinking of?"

He said, "Apple."

The mentor checked, "Oh, do you mean like the fruit, apple?"

Willie said, "No. Apple's Bar. That's across the street from where I live. We don't have books and stuff, but grandma's been teaching us to read off of signs every night."

What is the most familiar configuration of letters for Willie? Apple's Bar. Does that clear up his responses? In Apple's Bar, what comes after 'A?' And, what comes after 'B?' The supervisor checked this out. "OK, Willie, when the teacher said, What comes after 'B,' and you said, 'A' what were you thinking of?" He said, "Bar."

The supervisor said, "Willie, I believe your problem is you have not been giving your teacher a frame of reference in which to interpret your responses to her questions."

Willie said, "What's a frame of reference?"

The mentor answered, "Basically, when you thought of Apple's Bar, if you had shared that with the teacher, in apple it's 'P' and in bar it's 'A', she would have understood what you were thinking of."

The mentor nearly said, "Do you understand?" which is not a very helpful thing to say to a young person. When you say this from a position of authority, how many people of (any age) have the confidence and fortitude to say, "Absolutely not! You have more experience in this than I do. I'm just trying to figure it out." Instead they usually nod their heads up and down and say "Uh-huh" when they really don't understand.

The mentor considered this and said instead, "Okay, to see if you understand what I have been saying, how would you answer me if I were to say, What comes after 'W?' He thought for a minute and said, "In Willie, it's 'I."

So he got it. Then the mentor turned to the teacher and said, "A problem you are having is not giving Willie a frame of reference in which to interpret your questions."

She said, "What is a frame of reference?" Then the real problem was exposed. The teacher had not been trained to deal with diversity.

The mentor said jokingly, "Well, what you could have said was, 'Within the context of the alphabet or the meaningless nursery rhyme A B C D E F G, which has nothing to do with words or reading, but is the only possible context in which I am willing to consider your response, what comes after 'L?' He could reply 'MNOP' and be home free even if he did not understand that 'MNOP' is not one letter."

Mrs. Jefferson, because of her love for children, embraced her training in dialogue and collaboration and the importance of checking on perception so she could stop discouraging and start encouraging uniqueness. Willie is a very smart little kid, who thrived when his basic needs were met. Helping schools adapt to these issues is an important key to safe and effective schools.

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by H. Stephen Glenn and Jane Nelsen		Raising Self-Reliant Children in a Self-Indulgent World
		Retail Price: $15.95 Sale Price: $9.95 Bestselling authors H. Stephen Glenn and Jane Nelsen have helped hundreds of thousands of parents raise capable, independent children with Raising Self-Reliant Children in a Self-Indulgent World. On its tenth anniversary, this parenting classic returns with fresh, up-to-date information to offer you inspiring and workable ideas for developing a trusting relationship with children, as well as the skills to implement the necessary discipline to help your child become a responsible adult. Those who think in terms of leniency versus strictness will be surprised. This book goes beyond these issues to teach children to be responsible and self-reliant—not through outer-directed concerns, such as fear and intimidation, but through inner-directed behavior, such as feeling accountable for one's commitments. Inside, you'll discover how to instill character-building values and traits in your child that last a lifetime.