If it were ONLY that Easy

"I don't get it," states the student.

"You don't get what?" questioned the teacher.

"I don't know what the question is asking," declares the student.

"Well, let's read through the question one sentence at a time. When we get to the part that you don't understand, tell me," explains the teacher.

"Why can't you just tell me?" the student pleads.

The teacher leans in and whispers to the student, "Oh, if it were only that easy."

Learning takes patients, time, facing obstacles, trial and error, and understanding. The majority of questions asked in a given day are a result of vocabulary understanding(and bathroom breaks). Students don't understand what they are being asked to answer or perform the task. Teaching takes similar traits, only the understanding comes from a different view point. You need to be able to understand what it is that the student struggles with before you can help them, .... without giving the answer away.

Parents become the teachers at home. When it comes to homework and the struggles a student faces, as a parent, start with asking the question "What is it that you don't understand?" You'll find that with a little digging, it can help you understand the child's struggle. A lot of times, simply restating it in a manner that a student understands can remove the road block. Then the next time they see the question with the similar vocabulary, they begin to understand the question a bit better. Really, it's that easy.