One of my closest friends, David Orme (http://www.magic-nation.com/), told me a fascinating story the other night in a pub in Lyndhurst. The story seems to me to be relevant to all consultants, coaches, mentors and educators, but no matter how many times we tell it, people don’t get it. Perhaps sometimes we don’t get it ourselves.
David does Writer in School visits. He has over 200 books published with all the major publishing houses and many of the minor ones too. He is an expert on writing and on how to get children to write more effectively and more creatively too.
Recently he had been at a school where he was invited to take a group of children of low ability to develop their skills. David has written a series of books specifically designed for this purpose – the Boffin Boy series (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Boffin-Invaders-Space-David-Orme/dp/1841676136). The thing about the series is, the text is exciting but minimal – space invaders, sci-fi stuff, with brilliant and bright graphics. So that children can feel that they are not reading some dull textbook, but a book akin to a comic. The children at the school he visited were using this series.
The class itself was truly multicultural, and this meant many were recent immigrants who first language was not English. Within the class which were considered by the teachers to be not academic were a subset of downright ‘difficult’ children who were perceived as not only difficult but not very bright at all.
As the lesson progressed David had an opportunity to talk to one of these ‘difficult’ children. He was Eastern European and from an impoverished background. David opened the book and was about to begin when the child smiled and proffered an opinion: the book wasn’t very good. David asked, why? And then he listened to the answer.
Because there were too many pictures. So what was the problem with that?
Because the pictures stopped you imagining yourself what was happening! When you only had the words you had to ‘see’ for yourself what was happening, and that was much better.
What insight! David was amazed. Here was a truly bright – insightful – child. He got up and went over to one of the teachers in the room. He pointed out the child, and said, I think he’s really bright – and has ability.
Has he? She said.
And the other teacher being informed of David’s opinion said, Oh?
A complete surprise to them – and they worked with the child Monday to Friday most days.
But then, they are professionals – they are paid to listen, as consultants, coaches, doctors, nurses, and let’s extend the list – civil servants and politicians – are all expected to listen. In fact, say they are listening. Parents, too, say they are listening. And we know they’re not: how? Because … they see nothing.
They carry on working, drudging in reality, waiting for holidays to take them out of all this, and all the while the universe – the one song – continues its sounds, and reveals its genius, and its geniuses, and they see – nothing.
If we could listen, then perhaps we would see.
James Sale
The Mapping Motivation Series 