Chameleons I. Assimilation Color Codes- Teacher vs. Learner
"It is not the strongest of the species that survive, not the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change." ~Charles Darwin
Chapter 4 Adaptability and Flexibility
According to Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), 「生活
化」和「應用」是評比的兩個關鍵字。思考、判斷和自學能力是 PISA 評比 三大素養最重視的核心能力 (www.oecd.org/pisa/)。三大素養外，PISA 還 強調十五歲青少年必須發展溝通、適應、有彈性、解決問題、使用科技的能 力，才能做好現代公民的準備。
If we only set our eyes on our children's grades in school, we are completely missing the point. The ultimate goal for learning is to help your child to see the purpose that they were born to this earth, that they have a responsibility to make this world a
better place, not just for their generation, but also the generations to come. Help reposition the students today to build a better tomorrow. President Lincoln once said: The philosophy of the schoolroom in one generation will be the philosophy of government in the next.
If we only emphasize on whether each individual student can do well in the academics and forgo the character building, the ability to adapt, and the critical skill to think and make sound judgment, then the government of the future will be such. We will have to ask ourselves, “Is that the outcome with which we would like to live when we grow old?”
When the Going Gets Tough, the Tough Adapt We cannot control others, such as other classes, other adults, or the circumstances, but we CAN control how we handle things that come our way. This is a message that we also need to convey to our students. There had been numerous cases in which students intentionally defied my authority. I could have chosen a number of ways to confront the behavior, but I always chose “calm”. To assimilate children and have them see things your way is to first adapt to their way of thinking and be flexible enough to find less than obvious solutions. When we adapt and be flexible, they learn to adapt and be flexible.
If children are not learning the way you teach, perhaps you should teach the way they learn. Each year, I travel across the Pacific Ocean to visit schools in other parts of the world. Teachers and parents share with me some pretty hardcore stories about how
some children can set them off and make them so angry, they want to beat the kids. Upon further investigation and inquiry, I learned that the altercation seemed to mostly take shape when an adult reacts to a child’s behavior in heightened state of anger, frustration, and intolerance. Thinking back to my childhood and how the teachers reacted to my less than desirable attitude. I must conclude that most teachers and parents in places where I have visited have been programed to think that the best way to get compliance from children is to impose harsh or corporal punishment. Contrary to what these adults have expected, many children today were raised in a one-child family where they reign the home. These children do not respond to physical punishment or verbal reprimands. In fact, I am seeing more and more children coming to school without the basic sense of honor and motivation to do well. So the more the adults scream, the more the children tune them out.
Honorable on the Inside, Flexible on the Outside In order for us to get the kids to see the importance of compliance and flexibility, here are some things that had worked for me in the past to help students to adapt: 1. I tell the children that everything starts with honor. Sense of honor comes from within; no one can give it, and no one can take it. It comes from knowing that one is worthy, that one can do well, and the individual is made to be top-notch, no matter the circumstances. This is a fictional concept to many students whose parents never expected anything of them, regardless parents’ income, degree, or background. Parents allow their children to be mediocre, to stop trying, to give up easily, and to blame others for their mistakes, all in the name of “I want my
child to be happy”. Some mistaken honor as being prideful, and it means “no compromise”; therefore, everything has to go their way. Conflicts happen. So I had to be that role model for these students, to consciously carry myself in a way that is honorable, in front of students and parents. For example, when parents barged into my classroom and demanded to talk to me, I greeted them appropriately and let them know that, when I was with students, they came first. I would speak in a tone of voice that is friendly yet firm. Without being offended, I thanked the parent for allowing a different time slot that worked better for both parties. This behavior is consistently displayed by myself whether the offenders were students, teachers, or parents. Soon the students learned that, no matter how others behave, they were in charge of how they react to that behavior. My students became calm, polite, democratic little ladies and gentlemen. Sense of honor was internalized and learned. Students assimilated. 2. Prizes and rewards are earned by, and given to the whole class, not individuals. Students know from day one that, the only way that they will get a class party/celebration is that the “whole class” receives positive comments from other teachers, earn stars on the board, completes homework, or be praised for “being good”. It is a sense of honor that speaks to them that they “belong” to a topperforming group, and the recognition of being “the” top-performing group has to be achieved by the whole group. This is a positive cyclical behavior modification. All students learn to adapt to the norm of the class and be flexible enough for this diverse group to work together to reach a common goal. This is assimilation through group dynamics (apa.org, 2013).
3. Children are children. They whine when things get tough and they complain when routines are interrupted. When school year first started, students would come to me and complain about numerous things ranging from their parents to school lunch. One day, I said to them, “There are many things that we cannot control in our lives. We can choose to face these things with a smile and have a good day, or face these things with pouts and have an awful day. The choice is ours. Why don’t you watch how I handle things in the next two weeks, really pay attention and watch what I say? You can copy what I say the next time something requires your flexibility.” When the office called and said we needed to go to a last- minute assembly, parents came to talk to me, students ran in to ask for something, all kinds of interruptions happen, I said, “Thanks for letting us know. You are wonderful.” Or, I said, “Thanks for coming at the moment’s notice, I appreciate your being here. If you will give me 20 minutes, I will be able to give you my undivided attention.” There was always a compromise, a smile, an understanding remark, and an insistence on win-win solutions. My students learned to smile more. They know being flexible is a must. They teach others to be flexible and adapt to unpredictable changes in school life. Many of my old students returned years after they graduated. They told me that what I told them was true. They HAD a choice, they could be flexible, and they always chose the better attitude. To me, that is the best illustration of positive assimilation.
Suggestions for Parents: A key element to building flexibility is for the child to operate under a variety of situations provided or even created by parents. For example, if a trip was planned and the child is super excited about the travel, offer other options to maximize the travel plan. For example, allow the child to plan part of the trip, perhaps, where to eat. Explain to the child that, in the event that the particular restaurant is not open, or someone in the family does not like that kind of food on a certain day, there needs to be a flex plan (what I refer to as Plan B), such as another nearby restaurant or take-out food. Help the child to make these plans and make the process fun and friendly.
Action Points for Teachers: Students sometimes try our patience. There once was a student from a fellow teacher’s class who came up to her teacher and said, “You know all those buttons on your coat, I am going to push all your buttons today…” These children may find it cute to make statements like that, but to me, it is a statement that challenges authority. Someone somewhere must have condoned that type of interaction for the child to be that way. Be the person to introduce that adaptability. Smile and say, “I’d like to see you try,” or “I know you can make better decisions than that.” Sometimes, that statement alone would be enough to deter the student. If we can envision the possible challenging behavior coming from children, we can be prepared to be flexible. When we practice enough, even when there are unforeseen circumstances, we can remain flexible enough to adapt.
If You Happened to be a Student:
As a student, I was one of the most difficult children in any class that I have ever attended, from kindergarten to tenth grade. I was that way because I was privileged, spoiled, too smart, and too stubborn. What I did not know what, the behavior that I exhibited was keeping me from adapting to a variety of teachers. When I moved to America, I had to learn the hard way to change myself in order to survive American schools. Stay flexible and take time to reflect. You may begin to see how and why certain teachers behave certain ways. Just this simple discovery will help you adapt to teachers, coworkers, and supervisors in the years to come.
Chameleon Dialogues (變色龍互動區) In order to adapt, there has to be habits in place that kick in to action at the moment’s notice, so we know what to do in a “tight spot”. Chameleons change colors to communicate moods and body temperatures. We as chameleon educators can do the same. When offended, let the offender know that they have crossed the line and you will not tolerate that behavior. Once that is done, a chameleon self-adjusts to remain “cool”, literally. There is no need to react with temper. We adapt. Many of our predecessors may have done it differently and we learned from their role model to think that we must yell and scream or, in the Asian world, get physical in order to get compliance. There are other ways to help children adapt to the norms of the school. Be firm yet flexible. Be strict yet caring. That is the art of being a professional teacher.