Seeing Through the Eyes of a Young Learner

(Blog #6)

Today I spent time in a Grade 1 classroom. No agenda, no observation sheet, just sitting alongside the students, watching and listening. It’s remarkable how quickly adults forget what it feels like to be five, six, or seven years old in a classroom. The size of the room. The pace of the lesson. The language being used. The constant stream of instructions.

At one point, a simple activity, “write one sentence about your weekend”, caused visible anxiety for a few students. Not because they lacked ideas, but because the process of getting from thought to paper was complex.

Watching this reminded me again, good teaching, and good leadership, starts with empathy. We have to see through the eyes of the learner. What seems simple to us may feel overwhelming to them. What seems clear to us may be filled with hidden steps for them.

It’s a mindset we must also take into leadership: see through the eyes of those we lead. Understand what the day feels like for them, their pressures, their uncertainties, their moments of joy.

Today’s reflection is simple:

When was the last time you deliberately slowed down to see an experience through someone else’s eyes, learner or colleague?

It may change how you lead tomorrow.

Mark Pollitt, Founder of Seeds of Knowledge