Monday 7 January 2013

Anyone can draw.

Many years ago I undertook a PGCE course with the Open University with the aim of going on to teach Chemistry. My Bachelor degree is in Maths and Chemistry and my A-levels were all science based. Halfway through the course I had to write a major essay. I can't remember the exact topic but it had to do with educational theory at the time. There was a minimum and maximum word count and my finished essay fitted nicely within it. I was quite pleased that I had managed to cover all the points I thought were relevant.
I was devastated when I got it back and can remember to this day the exact comments at the bottom. It was given a "bare pass" and was annotated with "too succinct and to the point so it reads threadily".
Having been taught, as a scientist, to write accurately and succinctly, stating facts and conclusions without adding opinions, it was a bitter pill to swallow. Even then, in my 30's it had an impact on my self esteem.
That also reminded me of a time at school when my report for Art recommended I shouldn't continue with the subject. I didn't, at least not at school. How many other learners get told they have no aptitude for something and give it up? I bet that is most of us. Maths, science, art, music - if you don't get it straight away, you can't do it.
The truth is, we develop different parts of our brain at different rates and learn in different ways. We also need to be engaged with the subject. So if there is something you would really like to do but think you can't learn how, or have been told, as I was, that you were poor at the subject and have shied away from it, then take another look. Think on this - if you have the hand eye co-ordination to write with pen and paper, then you have the ability to draw. If your brain can compute all the complicated skills required to drive a vehicle, then you can do maths. If someone says you can't, you need a new teacher or a different critic :)

7 comments:

  1. This is so true, I have been struggling with my son for some years with his struggling grades mainly in Math & reading. I had to take control of the situation and find him a tutor that could really understand a child with ADD & now hes pulling A's & B's! Great Read

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    1. Great to hear you got a tutor with the right skills :)

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  2. I, too, have been down-graded for my creative writing. So, I became a journalist and finally a computer technical writer. Won awards along the way, so I know I can write technically. Yet, I am creative in so many other ways and love sharing those different gifts.

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    1. Keep creating and write what you like, ignore that down grade :)

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  3. So true, it's sad to think others can hold so much power over whether or not we succeed in any topic but they do! Great post!

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  4. I never cease to be amazed at the difference that can exist between what I say and what others hear. Language and how we use it is critical

    Great post

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