A fish out of water

My wife is a special education teacher and sometimes pulls me into her world. Talk about a fish out of water. Oh I listen when my wife talks about her job and I’ve had my own educational experiences, but I’m most definitely in unfamiliar waters. So you can imagine my thoughts when she asked me to tag along with her recently to a lecture on Autism by Temple Grandin, the autistic scientist, inventor, and author.

Diagnosed with autism when she was three, Grandin’s mother rejected her doctor’s advice to institutionalize her, and provided her with intensive speech therapy, a structured home and a nurturing school environment. Grandin became one of the first autistic people to document the insights she gained from her personal experiences with autism. In addition to autism advocacy, Grandin is well known for her work regarding animal welfare, neurology and philosophy. Claire Danes played a younger version of Grandin in the 2010 HBO movie.

Image by Pexels.

My wife and I both found the presentation interesting, but for different reasons. My wife came away excited about Grandin’s insights into the different ways our brains are wired and how she thinks in pictures. Meanwhile, I came away with key lessons about work and life. For example:

• Make changes specific and practical. To bring about long-lasting change, you need to focus on simple, measurable goals and adoption versus vague top-down, meaningless mandates. For someone who thinks differently than myself, ambiguous goals provide little value.
• On the job training. Grandin worked at a young age and advocates for meeting learners where they are in settings where they can ask questions, be empowered, and not rushed. Nail that and fluency during busy times will come.

Temple Grandin

• Focus on outcomes over technology. We live in a technology-focused world. Tech can be a great tool, but not the be-end-all. Success and adoption is not about perfection, but iteration and repetition.
• Embrace neurodiversity. People learn differently. We miss out on opportunities when we pigeonhole education to one type of learner.

Image by Pexels.

I may be a fish out of water when it comes to education. I may know nothing about the best bait to use or picking where to cast, but to steal another fish-related idiom — with Grandin’s advice I’ll soon be “shooting fish out of a barrel.”

What new tricks or tips have you learned lately?