Overattaching

The mystery of why certain lessons go over well in class and flop in another is just that…a mystery. Or, it is? At the beginning of the semester, we watched a video addressing the ways in which people—and by default students—think differently. The way we come to a topic and understand it varies across a wider spectrum than imaginable. It is more than the difference between a visual versus oral versus analytical thinker. It involves experience, connotations and more. Just as we try to incorporate or accommodate different ways of thinking into our class, it would make sense that these differences would also underlie the disparate reactions to assignments.

And, from this perspective, Boice seems to be right on target, particularly in terms of being aware of this fact and providing us with tools for handling the disparities. While I appreciate value such suggestions as mid-semester evaluations and having fellow instructors sit in on classes, what I find even more useful is just the mindset in which Boice advocates. Overattaching is undoubtedly something I know I have been troubled by (it is an awful disease, really!?!). In part, it seems like, as new teachers, we overcompensate or just set unreasonable expectations for ourselves. We take on the burden of seeing a lesson flop and look to ourselves for the fault, as we were both the creators and administrators of the lesson. And, yet, much of this is beyond our control. Yet Boice rightful tell us that there is no reason to let these setbacks affect us personally or give up entirely. Rather we should look make compromises and adjustments, but, more than anything, we should not to overattach.