Adam read this article about a town in Italy named Cremona and sent it to Todd right away. The town is famous for making violins, especially the Stradivarius. Reading the article fascinated us and we saw so many ideas that could easily relate to education.
Think about the time it takes to handcraft a violin, the process, the pain, the challenge, the journey, the experience from this, how can we create this for our kids? How can we teach them the importance of slowing down sometimes in our fast paced world. What’s the value in slowing down?
Our lives as educators moves at a breakneck speed. We have deadlines, forms to complete, grading to do, phone calls to make, and the list goes on and on. Sometimes it feels like we just run from one thing to another in a school day.
And in the midst of all that busyness sometimes we get lost. We get so caught up in some things, that we forget to slow down and find the small moments too. Those moments that can be easily lost in the shuffle of life’s fast pace.
Moments like stopping to eat lunch with your students. Just taking those few minutes to sit down, have a conversation on their level about what they want to talk about, and spend time getting to know them.
Moments like playing at recess. You shouldn’t ever be afraid to jump into a game of kickball, or slide down the “big kid” slide, or play a game of tag.
Moments in class when a student asks a really great, thought provoking question, and it stops the entire lesson so that everyone can discuss and figure out the answer.
Moments when we just need to pick up a picture book and read it and laugh together.
Sometimes we must slow down our speed a little and really develop things. Develop those relationships, develop those thinking moments, develop those experiences and memories.
If you’re anything like us, slowing down can sometimes be very hard to do. It doesn’t really fit either of our personalities. But both of us make a conscious effort to find the small moments in the day to stop, take a look around, and notice and take part in things we were missing. Because sometimes you must slow down to create something truly great. And when you take the time to readjust and slow down, it can make all the difference.
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