Could We Be More Clear?

Many times I have wondered why students have a propensity to ignore directions. Even after writing directions on the board, stating them verbally, and including the directions on their classwork, the question is still asked, "What am I suppose to do?" or even, "I did not know about that!"

Recently, we had class registration. The process was supposed to be simple. The parents and students were to pick up their schedules, verify that classes were correct, give the schedule to a runner that would pick up the appropriate textbooks for them, and wait for their names to be called. Maps were provided, signs were posted, and verbal instructions given. Yet, it did not go so smoothly. Even the parents did not know what they were doing.

This experience caused me to stop and ponder for a moment. Could we have been more clear? Or is there something inherent in humans that prevents us from paying attention? Were the parents just as careless as the students, or were we the cause of confusion? I took a moment to look around. The map was readable, but it took me a long look before I could understand it. The signs were easy to read, but with a hundred other people in the room they could not be seen. Although verbal direction was given, at times the directions between stations were conflicting.

Often, as educators, we feel that we got the message across. We have told them what to do, but they still do it wrong anyway. We can get frustrated when this happens. Maybe I should learn from this registration experience.

Like the map, maybe my directions are not as easy to digest as I thought they would be. I am sure the person who drew it understood it, but the people who really needed it could not understand it. Do teachers sometimes give familiar directions to an unfamiliar audience? I'll check myself on this one for this upcoming school year.

Do we sometimes give directions in distracted environments? I believe that society used to expect people to organize themselves ahead of time, but more and more I see that society is leaning towards more instantaneous experiences. We only learn what we need to know, when we need to know it. So, if I am in front of the class blabbing on about some important instructions, am I expecting too much for them to listen at that point in time when they wont be doing the actual work for a while longer?

In the past I have tended to be a little hard on the students when I thought they were not following clear directions. Maybe in the future I need to take a look at my teaching and see if I am really being as clear as I thought I was.

What do you guys think? Is it the teacher? Or is it the student?