Context is everything.

I am that kid.

I can’t follow more than three directions at at time.

I must see you model each task.

I have to repeat the directions to myself.

I visualize it in my mind to remember it.

When I try on my own, I mess up most of the time.

I look around me to see what I missed because I’ve already forgotten what I was supposed to do.

When I try, I look awkward and I’m embarrassed.

Sometimes I cheat, hide the fact that I cannot do it.

Sometimes I don’t even show up; it’s too hard.

I can think of a million excuses why I shouldn't go.

But most of the time I do show up. Guilt.

The instructor has to make extra stops by me to make sure I am okay.

He models the task for me .... again and gently helps me try ... again.

He modifies the task for me when necessary.

He always has words of encouragement or a funny comment to make me feel better.

If he wasn’t caring, I would ditch… a lot.

This is me at the gym. Context is everything.

I was the kid.

I excelled in everything I tried.

I could memorize anything.

I had and still have a photographic memory.

Tasks were easy and I let everyone know it.

I could complete the work faster than everyone else.

It gave me time to read and mess around.

I was labeled “gifted”; I needed no help.

I had to help others; made the tutor.

I had no patience for those who didn’t get it.

I did struggle in one area ...mightily.

I was given help, guidance.

But I gave that up.

It marred my perfection.

Don’t do what you can’t do.

This was me in school. Context is everything.

As a people, we bring our own experiences - and often our own baggage - to the table. When we enter
a classroom, we bring our own learning experiences with us. These learning experiences frame our
approach to students. Students bring experiences - and baggage - to the classroom.

As an educator I was taught to help others, given strategies to do so. But I readily admit there have
been times when I was short of patience with those kids who didn’t get it the first time. It took
experience in life and in teaching for me to recognize that context is everything. We all have our
strengths and areas of need. And that’s okay. It's what you do about it that matters.

There is nothing more humbling than failure. And nothing more rewarding than success ….when it
happens for you. Failure in an area that you are unfamiliar with - math, history, even working out at the
gym - is embarrassing - especially when it’s made public. Hopefully you have someone - an educator,
a coach, a friend, a loved one - who can model for you, have patience with you, support you with
whatever you need - extra time, repetition, explaining differently, showing you different ways - until you
get it. If you don’t have that person, be that person for yourself.

Your context determines how and when you excel. I learned that what works for me as a learner may
not work for my students as learners. It is my duty, my challenge, to understand each child’s context and
to support them as they need it, when they need it.

That kid and the kid are the same kid. It just depends on the context.