On Friday I shared it with my students. The comments and conversation that followed were, I thought, worthy of sharing. I put the quote up on the smart board and just started by asking what they thought MLK meant when he said this. Hands flew up in the air.
You don't have to do everything quickly.
Do the first thing to change something - even if you don't know everything.
Do things step by step - don't rush, you'll finish sometime.
Go at your own pace.
Don't grow up too fast. Take your time in life.
You don't have to know what the ending is going to be.
If you look at the whole staircase it may be too scary.
Imagine the good things that will happen, not the bad
I asked my students if anyone had ever done anything when they didn't know what the ending would be. Every hand went up and they started sharing stories - "like when I went on the monkey bars for the first time." "It's like a painting, you don't know how it will turn out." "Like jumping off a diving board!"
Then I had them think about MLK and why he said this, and my students were able to relate it to him because he changed the law step by step.
It was a great conversation and left me feeling that I really am making an impression on my students. I hope they remember this quote as they get older!
Your kids seem so in-tune with the quote. I wonder if our reluctance to "jump in" is something that develops as we get older. Maybe it has more to do with personality. It sounds like you had a great conversation that the kids can apply to their daily lives. Thank you for your post.
ReplyDeleteI think the fact that you gave them so much space makes SURE they will remember it. Thanks for sharing the wisdom of those little smarties!
ReplyDeleteI love a great classroom discussion, but yes the question of 'will they remember it' lingers.
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