It's A Wonder I Don't Just Lose It

Two things that have become very apparent to me since I've started teaching computer are that 1). children do not listen well to directions, and 2). children do not seem to have problem solving skills that would help them figure things out on their own.  

When I taught fourth grade I was a fanatic about my students listening to directions.  I would go to great pains to explain things in detail - right down to what they should do with the assignment when they were finished and what they, personally, could do when they were finished. Then I would ask if there were any questions and, if there were none, they could begin.  


If ANYONE dared to begin their assignment before I was completely done with directions - I would rip it up, throw it away, and they got a 0. 

This may sound harsh for 9 and 10 year old children but I was adamant about instilling good listening skills at this young age and, let's be real here, it made my life a whole lot easier!

I love repeating myself 100 times a day ----said NO ONE EVER!

Now, however, I cannot very well take away a whole computer from a student who does not listen to directions...I wish I could...but it's not possible.

 I do my best to make sure they listen.  For instance, in the lower grades if they do not listen to my directions I will not help them with their assignment.  Four 2nd graders learned first hand last week that fooling around during directions is probably not a good idea when they struggled with figuring out how to get AutoShapes on a word document and change the color of the inside of the shape while their classmates - the ones who DID listen to my directions - had no trouble at all. And no, I did not help them.  At the end of class I went to all four individually and showed them how to do it so they still met the objective.

As a teacher, especially one who has an average of 60 - 100 students filter through my door each day, I have to do things that will preserve my sanity.  And repeating directions is one of those things that I just refuse to do.  

The problem solving thing I just have not figured out yet.  I don't know if they just don't have any or if in this age of easy access to things, they just want to take the easiest way out all the time instead of figuring it out on their own.  For instance, I can't tell you how many times a day I hear, "how do you spell_______?" even though Microsoft Word has spell check built right in. 

 For the Middle School grades, I go out of my way to type up ALL directions for them so that even if they did not listen to me or they forget (because we do a lot of multi-day projects) they simply need to read the directions.  

Despite this over the top attempt to make my life easier by not having to repeat the same things over and over, I still get questions such as, "does this report have to be double-spaced" and "we can do our PowerPoint on any subject, right?"  I patiently suppress my urge to yell, "what do you think?" and simply and calmly say, "read your requirement sheet I printed."  Or, on the off chance that there is no requirement sheet my favorite saying is, "ask a classmate because I already gave that direction."  

But despite all I try to do...there are times I feel like shaking my head and waving the white flag of defeat. Like this morning when a 6th grader asked me, "is the B in George W. Bush capitalized?"  and another shows me her printed report and asks, "where should I put this?" even though at the beginning of class I clearly and emphatically said, "DO NOT PRINT YOUR REPORTS TODAY - EVEN IF YOU FINISH THEM...DO NOT PRINT."  

I don't know maybe if I stand on my head or do a cartwheel while giving directions I'll have better results.