"Daddy, can we go over the jumps so that you can see me jump and I can see you fall?"
The words of a six year old called Cai Fredrick on Christmas day to his father as they walked to the ski slopes. Cai's father had wanted to learn to snowboard since moving to Norway. He was desperate not to fit the stereotype that Norwegians have about people who can't ski or snowboard: Han må være engelsk eller dansk. Translated: He must be either English or Danish. Cai's father wanted to become a master of the slopes, but first he had to start at the beginning - as a novice. It had been a long time since Cai's father had been a complete novice at anything. So he began his journey as a learner. It turned out that Cai's father learnt more than just the ability to snowboard but also what it felt like to be a novice again. The constant wrestling of emotions: fear, anger, embarrassment, frustration, sadness, occasional joy, bruised pride, a deflated ego - not to mention a sore backside. All the ingredients needed to help him maintain his empathy (as a teacher) with his students in his classes. Why is such teacher empathy important to Cai's father? Because there is a strong possibility that it may help develop positive relationships with students, since students recognise that the teacher understands their struggles. It is the teacher's ability to see the school experience through the eyes of the student, which according to Kohut (2001) triggers an authentic response, leading to a positive impact on learning. Yet such an important connection may be in jeopardy from the curse of knowledge. The idea that the more expert a teacher becomes the less empathy they may be able to show towards their students.
Is it then a case of you can't have your cake and eat it? Let's hope not - teachers should strive to become experts in both subject knowledge and pedagogy, and endeavour to remain empathetic. Perhaps timely life reminders, where teachers experience the trials and tribulations of being a novice over a sustained period, might just be a suitable defence against such a curse. My suggestion, if you haven't already learnt to ski or snowboard, is to give it a go. The slopes are one humongous mixed ability classroom.
Diary of a Novice Snowboarder
December 7th 2016
Dear diary, it's only two weeks away and I have been excitingly telling friends and family about how much I am looking forward to my first skiing holiday. I can't wait to feel the brisk wind sweep across my face as I weave my way down the slopes; a playground for adults. Yeeha!
December 22nd 2016
Dear diary, I woke up today full of excitement. I was so confident and of course foolish when I kept asking myself how hard can it be? I looked good in all the gear and for a short time I even felt like a competent snowboarder despite my novice status. Helping the kids suit and boot took my mind of the impending playground of fun and thrills. When we walked out of the apartment I was suddenly face to face with the mountain. I have to say diary that I was momentarily giddy as I walked to its base. Adults and children were gracefully zig zagging their way down the slope. As I arrived at the T bar queue my confidence began to wane. I attempted to reassure myself by remembering my moves as a teenage skateboarder. The line was long but it was soon my turn. I was told how to grasp the T bar by the blonde Nordic attendant. I smiled and said to myself you can do it. And I did do it .............. for exactly 3 meters before I was eating Scandinavian snow. It was so embarrassing diary. The attendant even ran to my aid with a sympathetic smile, whilst the kids in the queue were rolling their eyes and whispering. The next time I managed 10 meters, after that I managed 15, and after that I only managed 3 again - what an idiot! I'm 41 for #####sake. Step forward my brother-in-law; 6ft 3in muscular frame, fair hair, chiseled face, and beard. Some say Norwegians are born with skis on their feet, in his case he snow jumped out of his mother womb on Telemark skis. What's worse diary is he is a lovely guy, everyone's best friend, with man crushes a frequent occurrence. It was baby bambi on ice next to an adult Simba in his natural habitat. I have to tell you diary - I felt pretty inadequate. So with the class pin up and jock by my side I hung onto him for my dear life as he took hold of the T bar - It was reminiscent of the scene from the original Superman movie when Superman catches Lois Lane as she falls from a helicopter.
Is it then a case of you can't have your cake and eat it? Let's hope not - teachers should strive to become experts in both subject knowledge and pedagogy, and endeavour to remain empathetic. Perhaps timely life reminders, where teachers experience the trials and tribulations of being a novice over a sustained period, might just be a suitable defence against such a curse. My suggestion, if you haven't already learnt to ski or snowboard, is to give it a go. The slopes are one humongous mixed ability classroom.
Diary of a Novice Snowboarder
December 7th 2016
Dear diary, it's only two weeks away and I have been excitingly telling friends and family about how much I am looking forward to my first skiing holiday. I can't wait to feel the brisk wind sweep across my face as I weave my way down the slopes; a playground for adults. Yeeha!
December 22nd 2016
Dear diary, I woke up today full of excitement. I was so confident and of course foolish when I kept asking myself how hard can it be? I looked good in all the gear and for a short time I even felt like a competent snowboarder despite my novice status. Helping the kids suit and boot took my mind of the impending playground of fun and thrills. When we walked out of the apartment I was suddenly face to face with the mountain. I have to say diary that I was momentarily giddy as I walked to its base. Adults and children were gracefully zig zagging their way down the slope. As I arrived at the T bar queue my confidence began to wane. I attempted to reassure myself by remembering my moves as a teenage skateboarder. The line was long but it was soon my turn. I was told how to grasp the T bar by the blonde Nordic attendant. I smiled and said to myself you can do it. And I did do it .............. for exactly 3 meters before I was eating Scandinavian snow. It was so embarrassing diary. The attendant even ran to my aid with a sympathetic smile, whilst the kids in the queue were rolling their eyes and whispering. The next time I managed 10 meters, after that I managed 15, and after that I only managed 3 again - what an idiot! I'm 41 for #####sake. Step forward my brother-in-law; 6ft 3in muscular frame, fair hair, chiseled face, and beard. Some say Norwegians are born with skis on their feet, in his case he snow jumped out of his mother womb on Telemark skis. What's worse diary is he is a lovely guy, everyone's best friend, with man crushes a frequent occurrence. It was baby bambi on ice next to an adult Simba in his natural habitat. I have to tell you diary - I felt pretty inadequate. So with the class pin up and jock by my side I hung onto him for my dear life as he took hold of the T bar - It was reminiscent of the scene from the original Superman movie when Superman catches Lois Lane as she falls from a helicopter.
Coming down the hill was fraught with danger as I negotiated how to stand up on a snowboard from a sitting position, and how to deal with a bruised cox bone. I only coped with a couple of hours of instruction, fear, frustration and pain before I had had enough. It was not the day I had hoped for, and not one I readily want to experience again. On the upside, my wife tells me that my 3 year old son Ketan can independently go up the T bar on skis and come down unaided. Great!
December 23rd 2016
Dear diary, I was a wreck this morning. The image of people laughing at me as I attempt to snowboard was plastered across my mind. My son Cai asked me this morning at breakfast why I was grumpy. I told him my snowboard wasn't working properly. What a pathetic excuse. I did manage to take the T bar unaided to the top once. It must have been luck as I failed to replicate this success for the rest of the day. Luckily the God of Thunder (Thor), my Brother-in-Law, was on hand to help. Diary I feel like giving up.
Christmas Eve
Dear diary, I am still trying to come to terms with the Norwegian tradition of giving presents on Christmas Eve but Father Christmas was good to me. I mastered the T bar today and came down the mountain a few times without falling over. Tomorrow I will accomplish mastery of the baby slope.
Kohut, H. (2001). On empathy. The search for the self, selected writings of Heinz Kohut 1978-1981. New York: International Universities Press.
