It might seem like a rather obvious statement to make, but without confidence in learning, very little progress can be achieved. However, it is one of those tricky things that is easy to overlook, particularly in the context of a busy classroom. One of the first things I notice when working with a new student of any age, is the increase in confidence that they experience in just a short space of time. Subsequently, this has a knock on effect on whatever they do in that particular subject, either at home or in the classroom. The psychology of learning is at least as important as aptitude, and it is something I prioritise in my planning and delivery of activities. I always have it in the front of my mind to make my lessons a time where mistakes can be made and difficulties expressed without judgement or negativity, and that improvements, however small, do not go unacknowledged.
So how do I do this? Personally speaking, I have never had a problem with academic learning, but I put myself in the position of the learner where possible. I think back to something I dreaded learning, that I felt I was not good at, something that I hated learning because it did not come naturally to me. I'm talking about learning to drive. I've never been a practical person or confident in learning something I regard as a physical skill. Put me in front of a book or a blank piece of paper and I am as happy as a pig in the proverbial. Make me do a sport or put a tool or piece of equipment in my hand and I instantly feel a sense of impending failure. And everytime I make a mistake or find something difficult, this only serves to reinforce my belief that I am "rubbish".
Driving is one such physical skill, in that it requires a coordination of both mind and body parts. But in spite of the nine months of two hour lessons every week, two hours where I would sometimes feel physically sick in anticipation, I persevered. I kept going in spite of the disastrous reverse around the bends that would leave me on the wrong side of the road, the devastating hill starts at traffic lights with my fellow road users leaning on their horns in frustration, and the "Which lane now?!" panics at overcomplicated roundabout systems.
I went through three driving instructors in that time. The first one went a bit strange and started quoting the more dramatic parts of the Book of Revelations when I was attempting to parallel park. The second one could not hide his look of relief when I moved house and he no longer lived close enough to me to continue with my lessons. The third, however, was a lovely lady who was encouraging and not judgemental about my driving skills, or lack of them. She allowed me to relax and to get things wrong, without my mistakes overwhelming me with a sense of real negativity and "rubbishness". I took my driving test under her tutelage and passed on the second attempt. Forget GCSEs, A Levels or degree examinations; the most gut wrenchingly nervous I've ever felt for a test of my ability was my driving test, and even now I recall my elation and relief at passing - something I felt was a major, major achievement in my life.
Similarly, I can identify with the sense of accomplishment my students must feel when they achieve something in a subject area they believed they were "rubbish" at. Whether that's the hand going up in class to answer questions where they would previously have been still and silent, or getting a piece of work on the wall as an example of quality where they were used to struggling, or to calmly and accurately complete a piece of homework that would previously have caused tears and anxiety - I can understand how much it means to them. It means a great deal to me too.
Posted by The Tutor - Top of the class in English, last to be picked at Netball, 13 years behind the wheel and still no major accidents (touch wood)
