I would like to begin today with a story. It's a story about a distinguished professor - Professor Don Redden - who was giving a talk to a group of students at a tertiary institution just outside Dublin, in the Republic of Ireland. In his presentation, Professor Redden asked his audience a number of questions emanating from some visual aids he had brought with him. Showing first an opaque jar, he put as many rocks as he could into it and asked if it were full. The students answered a very positive 'yes.'
Without saying anything the distinguished academic, now put as many pebbles as he could into the jar and then asked the same question. The response was again 'yes' but there were some reservations on the part of the audience. Professor Redden then filled the jar with sand. On asking the same question, this time there was no response. The professor next added as much water as he could to the jar from a jug. 'Is the jar now full,' he asked. The silence was deafening.
Professor Redden next dissolved salt into the water, over the sand, the pebbles and the rocks. . 'Well, is the jar now full,' he asked. A brave student near the back of the hall broke the silence by answering, with great confidence, 'No,, Professor, no. The jar is not full.' Professor Redden looked around the hall and said, 'Ah, but the jar is full' and with that he invited the audience to do some reflecting-on-action and to consider both the purpose and the meaning of his demonstration. After a moment, he invited the students to offer their interpretations and he allowed each and everyone one of them to speak. When they had finished he thanked them and said that he was not surprised that each of them had their own different interpretations for, he said, each of them was a unique individual, with unique experiences of life.
Finally, he asked them if they would like to know his interpretation of the demonstration. With great enthusiasm they said that they would. 'Well, I will give you my interpretation, then. But remember. My interpretation is no better nor worse than any of yours,' he said looking round the hall as he spoke. 'My interpretation is this: whatever you do in life, whatever the context, always remember to get your rocks in first.' And with that, Professor Redden left the podium.
Well, that's the story. The story will have touched you all in different ways - some of you might be happy with it (after all, many of us like listening to stories) but some of you will almost certainly not be happy. There might be those among you who think that it is a boring story, one that had a disappointing ending - it might even have agitated some of you. Well, there's nothing I can do about that, I'm afraid - that's the way the story goes: the story stands as it stands.
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12 comments:
The Rocks Story (comments )
To begin with, I’d like to say that this unusual story has touched me as it is thought pro-voking and the author makes you read between lines. I absolutely agree that it is connected with our course. In my opinion, the professor’s experiment shows the model of the teaching process.
According to the story, the jar seemed to be full every time, though there was some place left. I think, it was left for new knowledge and skills. Undoubtedly, one of the main things in teaching is to lay the foundation, the foundation of knowledge. Having this result it will be easier to increase knowledge.
To my mind, under the foundation the author means rocks, as they symbolize the base of future knowledge, without which it is impossible to make progress. Then you can add peb-bles and sand to diversify and improve language skills raising the level of knowledge. Add-ing water and salt speaks about the high level when the person is skilled at communicating in specific spheres.
Concerning my teaching practice in general, I must admit that this story is also true. First of all, teaching is a very complicated process and doing it you can’t achieve everything at once. So, you can improve language skills gradually as the story says.
On the one hand, it’s hard and time-consuming work, which takes a lot of energy, but on the other hand, it’s a beautiful life song, amazing and charming, a creative never-ending process. It’s a way of communication between the teacher and students leading to mutual understanding and self-development bringing joy, inspiration and a lot of unforgettable monuments when their hearts gladden striving for new heights.
Sarkisyan
I agree with Tamara that the story makes us think about the role of a teacher,his pearsonal qualities as well as professional duties. A teacher should be open-minded enough to accept any idear from his students without judging if it is right or wrong, may be just trying to understand the reasons why a student thinks so. On the other hand,planning a lesson a teacher should be awear of "the rocks" - what is essential,fundamental that his students should be taught. So ESP teacher should be able to differentiate important material from additional,what to include first .
Chuvasheva Yulia
N0 doubt, the story gives food for thought. The elements put by the professor step-by-step into the jar are the main components of a foundation while building a house. no these components, no a stable house. Reflecting on the teaching profession, it is not enough to get a diploma of a teaching profession that makes a good teacher. Any teacher has to go through definite development phases to get full self-realization in his pedagogical activity (so-called to make the jar full). He needs much teaching practice which makes hin analyse all sides of this extra-difficult, creative process. No doubt, various teacher development courses are additional ones which exist the necessity to go beyond mere training to the moulding of teachers' confidence in their ability to shape their own professional growth, to go through necessary professional development phases (stages) to get full self-realization.
Kolarkova Oksana
Thank you, Natalia, for this wonderful story. It really gives us food for thought and makes us reflect on our life in general and our teaching practice in particular.
It could seem that it is obvious: first things first, - still it is so typical that we manage to find time for every unimportant thing but nothing is left for something most important. Indeed, task #1 is to identify what is most essential.
As far as our teaching practice is concerned, the jar is like a lesson: even if we fill it with “pebbles” or “sand” it might seem “full” unless we realize the importance of didactical “rocks” which have been left aside. So while planning it is necessary to plan with main blocks taking into consideration that the most important things should not be omitted.
And because our course is very short the words from the story “Whatever you do in life, always remember to get your rocks in first” could serve as a motto for it.
Irina Tusheva
This story fully reflects all the aspects of teacher's profession.
The story is great!!!
I like the story very much!
The problem is that general information can be understood almost by everyone but further education depends on the person...to be continued... :)
Thank you for this thought provoking story. It gives us a lot of food for thought. It makes us ponder over our job, teaching practice. How many conerstones it has got! How many problems we, teachers, have to sort out every second!
At my lessons I always try to give my students situations to think over and discuss them. Some time ago I asked them if stress can be positive in our life, we were dicsussing some matters...
I think this srory is instructive and many-sided. So everyone can understand somethink important. as to me, I think each new stage of filling the jar is a level of operational experiebce of the teacher. Having developed the certain way of teaching it seems it ois exactly that you need but after a while it becomes clear that this way of work is far from perfect this process is fascinating and life-long.
Tamara пишет...
High, Natalia.
Of course, I agree that we can't accomodate to all the styles of the group. I think the way out is to create the atmosphere motivating the students and promoting free communication. Our task is to show them that they can communicate and help them do it giving easy but communicative tasks.
Tamara.
13 Март 2008 г. 0:58
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