There's an article going around that talks about how Asian mothers have more successful children because they believe in forcing them to work until they get As.
At first glance, it seems the opposite of what we've been taught, all about individuality and personal goals for students.
But on the other hand, I don't think it's so different.
Yes, we don't beat our students, or want our parents to do that.
But we do believe in perseverance, and in not giving up. Just yesterday I told my boss that I was willing to believe that my students could learn to translate, believe it every blasted day until the last day of school, when I was positive they would have learned it. I told her I would not give inflated grades on the report card, I would not be a "fluffy" Judaics teacher, and that instead I would translate a passuk with them every single day, until they made progress. And they will, each one of them, by the strength of me saying they can do it.
The more I teach, the less I believe in learning styles mattering, in pegging students or even understanding them in types, in saying that a kid won't be able to do something because of dyslexia, or ADD, or 'being kinesthetic'. Because I'm seeing students just this week who are all of those things, and who are learning trope, or reading, or translating, because I believe they can, and because they are practicing.
How is this any different from the 10,000 times it takes to learn something? I am learning that 10,000 works no matter what other background you bring to the table, because the determination it takes to do it that many times is stronger than anything holding a kid back. I see my students reach for the stars, and when they do, all 180 days of the year, every single one of them gets there.
