Learning to be Human

'Out of the questions of students come most of the creative ideas and discoveries'. 

-Ellen Langer 

I will never admit this to my students but some most days I think they teach me more than I teach them. Okay, not if we're measuring quantity, but definitely if we're considering quality. Sure, I teach them skills, and another language, but they teach me important things about life. For instance:

After completing their summative tasks for our social studies unit on "Communication" (which, I'm proud to say, most them rocked) one of my best students asked if she could redo hers.

"Why?" I asked. "You did really well."

"Oh but miss," she lamented, "I always regret after I finish. I will be at my friends' house or at the supermarket and then I suddenly think of what I could have done better."

"Ohhh," I say smiling. I know exactly what she means. "Well, it's okay to have regrets like that. That's how we know we learned something."

Hearing myself say that, and watching her face brighten with understanding, I realized that I just said the very thing I most needed to hear.