Teachable Moments

My daughter has gymnastics on Saturdays, however, we had a lot going on over the past few months and she ended up missing a significant number of lessons. Her first day back, my wife gets home and tells me she had a really hard time and that she got sad. Why? Well, the usual teacher wasn’t there and the substitute was not as inept at keeping track of a bunch of roaming children and my daughter had got left behind on several occasions. 

The owner apologized to my wife and explained the situation with the substitute, but was it her fault? I wouldn’t say so…This is a prime example of a teachable moment, and one that couldn’t have occurred in a better place. (An enclosed building with limited exits and a controlled environment with plenty of safety precautions in place…its a gymnasium after all, with loads of soft mats and foam pits). 

After getting the entire story from my wife, I moved to my daughter. I like to hear things from her so it gives her the opportunity to express herself and try to figure out the best way for her to get her side of the story across. After finally getting a generalized story from her, we went over what she could have done differently to control her side of the situation and to ensure something like this didn’t happen again…..that obviously concluded with her paying more attention to her teacher, her group, the location of them, where they’re going and when they go. I can only hope she retains this, and although the substitute was only there or one session, I would have very much liked for her to be there for a few more lessons to see if my daughter actually made any improvements with her ability to pay attention to her surroundings. 

So…the value of teachable moments are priceless. Take advantage of them when they present themselves because you never know when these lessons could make all the difference.