A young woman I’ll call Yvette signed up for math class. The first day, Yvette informed me that she can’t do a specific, very basic type of problem. Over the years, others have tried to teach her but she just can’t learn it. It’s impossible.
Now I’m not the brightest instructor in the instructional universe, but that declaration was a pretty clear indication to me that I would fare no better. I, too, would not be able to overcome Yvette’s tremendous barrier. I would not be able to teach her this bit of common knowledge. Others had failed; there was no doubt that I would go down in flames with the rest.
It was suggested to me that Yvette could have oppositional defiance disorder. But an explanation, or even a diagnosis, isn’t a solution, is it? The answer to, “How do I work with that?” was not encouraging.
Since then, I’ve developed a better understanding of Dr. Glasser’s choice theory. Human behaviours that used to puzzle me are not quite as mysterious anymore. Continue reading
