Thinking
about that ham you’re going to cook for New Year’s Day? I thought this story might be
appropriate as you think about 2012.
Once
there was a newly married couple.
The bride decided to cook her husband a ham. She cut off the front of the ham and the back of the ham. Then she put the ham in the pan and put
it in the oven. Her new husband
asked, “Why did you cut off the front of the ham and the back of the ham before
you put it in the pan?” She
replied, “Well, my mother always did it that way.”
The
husband went to his mother-in-law and asked, “Why do you always cut off the
front of the ham and the back of the ham before you put it in the pan?” She replied, “Well, my mother always
did it that way.”
The
husband went to the grandmother and asked, “Why do you always cut off the front
of the ham and the back of the ham before you put it in the pan?” She replied with a smile, “My pan was
always too small.”
A
similar practice often underlies what we do as educators. We don’t know why we do things –we just
do them because we’ve always done them that way. Thinking about WHY you do certain things each day and HOW
you might improve instructional techniques is a challenge that makes our job
more exciting.
Remember! If you always do what you’ve always
done then you’ll continue to get what you’ve always got!
