Do you ever have that moment when you run across “knowledge” and have the “wha-ha” moment? Well, I did the other day. First, let me say that I love trivia… useless and useful. Random facts of this and that, knowledge of who, what, when, why, and where… yep, that’s me; sign me up for the daily email. I tell my classes that one of my goals in life is to be a Renaissance Man – master of nothing but knowledgeable of everything. Learn something new today that I did not know yesterday – success.
Anyway… here is where I’m going. You history people are going to love this…
Right now, I am listening to the audiobook Gettysburg by Stephen W. Sears. As the Battle of Gettysburg unfolds, Abner Doubleday shows up… Yes, that Abner Doubleday, the inventor of baseball (some say that is a myth, but nonetheless). My first thoughts were, “What’s he doing there?” “What was the union army doing playing baseball?” “Did they want to get a team together?” Yes, I know that Abner Doubleday of baseball.
Here is the Abner Doubleday I did not know… He was a Major General in the Union army. He fired the first shot in defense of Fort Sumter. Doubleday had a pivotal role in the early fighting of Gettysburg. Interestingly, he was relieved of his duty by Major General George Meade. Also, he obtained a charter/patent on the cable car after retirement while he lived in San Francisco.
Ok… I had the “wha-ha” moment. Go figure. As usual, it “got me to thinking…”
How many times as educators do our students have the “wha-ha” moment in our classrooms? How many times do we help them find a connection to something that will bridge misunderstanding or just add to something they do not know? How many times do we take for granted they already know something? How many times do we find ways for those connections to happen? What are we doing to help expand our lessons for “take-a-ways” they can remember?
Call me an idealist educator (and I strive to be one)… but I still believe that students are impressionable. Those “wha-ha” moments don’t have to be huge or drawn out. They don’t even have to be tested. However, I’m willing to bet when students go out of your room, they might possibly talk about it. Odds are, they might even tell someone else what they “learned.” Do yourself and your students a favor; find “wha-ha” moments.
Go be a great educator and leader today… Our future needs it…
Remember… Think Leadership and Be For Others…
©2021 J Clay Norton
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