As we begin a new year, many of you may be thinking about how you can increase your skill certification test scores, attendance in your classes, and student motivation. Do you feel that you work harder than your students do? If yes, why? Sharen Kamp sent me this fable about a cow and a mule. It is a good analogy about how hard we work for our students, doing both our work and their work.
A cow and a mule worked on the small farm. Each morning, the farmer would start the day by milking the cow. Then he would hitch up the mule to plow his fields. At the end of the day, he would return to the cow and milk her again. One evening, the mule weary from a day of plowing approached the cow.
“I am so exhausted. All day long I plow the fields. My legs are sore. My back is chafed by the plow. I need some rest.”
The cow felt sympathy for the poor, tired mule and suggested, “Why don’t you pretend to be sick tomorrow. That way you can get a day off.”
The mule thought that was an excellent idea so the next morning, when the farmer came to hitch him to the plow, he lay down in his stall and moaned. The farmer, seeing that the mule was sick closed the stall door and took the plow to the cow’s stall and hitched her up instead. All day long she pulled the plow through the fields and that evening she returned to the barn to be milked. The mule on the other hand, enjoyed a relaxing day grazing in the meadows.
Angry and exhausted, the cow scolded the mule. “You spent a day of leisure while I had to do your work and mine. Now I am tired and my legs are sore and my back is chafed by the plow.”
The mule felt a twinge of guilt and apologized but he had enjoyed such a relaxing day that the next morning, he pretended to be sick again. The cow spent another day of milking, plowing, then milking again. That evening, she was too tired to fuss at the mule. The mule saw that the cow was doing a great job at doing both of their work so he felt less guilty and decided to take the rest of the week off.
By Thursday, the cow’s milk began to dry out. Her legs were shaky and although she gave it her best effort, she was unable to plow as much of the field as she had at the beginning of the week. The farmer became frustrated because he was unable to get as much work done and there was no milk. That evening he walked into the barn and made a decision. Because the mule seemed so sick, he would sell him to a glue factory and use the money he earned to buy a healthy mule. And, because the cow no longer produced good milk, he would use her for meat instead. When the mule and the cow heard the farmer, they quickly got back to doing their jobs. www.mindstepsinc.com
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If all of the “tips” are followed and our students are not succeeding, we need to give the work of learning back to our students.