How many times over the years have we all heard this from someone in our building? It is nauseating. Nathaniel addresses this idea in a whimsical and funny way, offering us a little comic relief before most of us will have to hear it again in August:
“There is more than one way to teach, you know!”
I have heard that several times. This year. What does that mean? Why would anyone say that? How does one respond to such a statement?
Do I say, “Oh, really? Thanks. I never knew that.”
Or, “How many ways are there?”
Or, “Let’s see. You teach one way and I teach another way. Why, wha’d ya know? That’s two ways right there.”
Or, “Let me think. Before I taught how I teach now I taught another way, and before that I taught a different way. That makes two…no, make that three ways.”
Or, “Wait a second. You are begging the question. Shouldn’t you first ask me whether or not I believe there is only one way to teach? Or at least ask me how many ways I think there are to teach?
Or, “No way. There can’t be more than one way to teach. I used to teach like my teacher taught me and now I teach…ah…different. Why, I do believe you are right, there are two ways to teach.”
Or, “Why didn’t I think of that?”
Or, “I always kind a thought grammar-based explanations and comprehensible input were basically the same thing. I never thought of them as more than one way to teach.”
Or, “Doesn’t that open up a can of worms? That might mean there is more than one way to write a letter, or more than one way to cook a carrot, or more than one way to exercise, or more than one way to make a living. Yikes, this is getting complicated.”
Or, “Reminds me of the story where the teacher knew 437 1/2 ways to teach. Yeah, really, I think it was written by Blaine Somethin’ or other. Don’t quite remember the last name.
The Problem with CI
Jeffrey Sachs was asked what the difference between people in Norway and in the U.S. was. He responded that people in Norway are happy and
