Cast Down Your Bucket

I always find it funny when we acknowledge simple practices in one aspect of our lives, but cannot apply that same practice to something else. The phrase "meet them where they are" has become a little cliche' in the education world, but the practice is really quite simple. I've been met with this idea is so many different places lately and this seemingly simple concept becomes quite difficult to practice. Think of a water well. It's just a deep hole that meets ground water. When you want water, you send down the bucket, fill it, and bring it back to the top. Simple. Easy. Anyone could see that if you only sent the bucket down halfway and asked the water to meet you in the middle, that you would never be satisfied. The well analogy is an old one. Booker T. Washington popularized the concept at the turn of the 20th century as others made the argument for African Americans to return to Africa in response to discrimination in America. Instead, Washington encouraged African Americans to "cast down your bucket" and pull up the best of African American culture here. They had to start where they were and focus on moving up, not away.

This week I have had several data conversations about EVAAS and conversations with parents about student behavior and performance that fell within this same analogy. As adults and educators, we want and even expect students to be at a certain level of behavior and education. That doesn't always happen. It frustrates us. How can we work on higher order thinking skills when a student reads or does math significantly below grade level? How can parents talk to their children about college and life if all they want to discuss is their friends or music? We have to meet them where they are to start. Otherwise we are just sending our bucket halfway and asking the water to come up. Understanding this analogy requires us to change as the motivator or teacher and that's hard. But refusing to adapt is only as effective as yelling down the well for water to come up.