Just let the kid think for a second

In a classroom of 12 or 15, 24 or 30, we’re so focused on what we want to happen and how a kid should go about his business that we forget: each individual we come into contact with has his own pace for processing, his own way of constructing knowledge, accessing memory, developing new connections.

Tonight I was in the library, working with some students who were still behind on their projects. In one case, a boy came to me, uncertain about the direction of his project. All I did was listen and give him the time to let thoughts come to him. Sometimes I’m so quick to jump in and ask questions that I don’t give kids the time they need to engage their normal processing routines. So I let him think, and not only did he end up solving his own problem, but he walked away more confident and sure of his goals.

All I had to do was resist from putting in my own two cents (easier said than done!).