Already sick of "teachable moment"
Bob G
forward", "at the end of the day", "the tools we need", "point in
time", "imagine if you will", etcetera, etcetera.
R H Draney
>
>Add another one to my list that includes "pushing back", "moving
>forward", "at the end of the day", "the tools we need", "point in
>time", "imagine if you will", etcetera, etcetera.
Is a "teachable moment" the reciprocal view of what has long been called a
"learning opportunity"?...r
--
A pessimist sees the glass as half empty.
An optometrist asks whether you see the glass
more full like this?...or like this?
Peter Duncanson (BrE)
>Bob G filted:
>>
>>Add another one to my list that includes "pushing back", "moving
>>forward", "at the end of the day", "the tools we need", "point in
>>time", "imagine if you will", etcetera, etcetera.
>
>Is a "teachable moment" the reciprocal view of what has long been called a
>"learning opportunity"?...r
The phrase "teachable moment" must be an idiom because it defies
rational analysis.
"teachable" qualifies "moment". If a "moment" is teachable then it, the
moment, must be capable of learning. Learning is outside the
capabilities of moments as we know them.
--
Peter Duncanson, UK
(in alt.usage.english)
Evan Kirshenbaum
> R H Draney <dado...@spamcop.net> wrote:
>
>>Bob G filted:
>>>
>>>Add another one to my list that includes "pushing back", "moving
>>>forward", "at the end of the day", "the tools we need", "point in
>>>time", "imagine if you will", etcetera, etcetera.
>>
>>Is a "teachable moment" the reciprocal view of what has long been
>>called a "learning opportunity"?...r
>
> The phrase "teachable moment" must be an idiom because it defies
> rational analysis.
>
> "teachable" qualifies "moment". If a "moment" is teachable then it,
> the moment, must be capable of learning. Learning is outside the
> capabilities of moments as we know them.
Do you feel the same way about, say, a "teachable song"?
You teach somebody something or you teach something to somebody. I
don't find the "somethings" any less teachable than the "somebodies".
--
Evan Kirshenbaum +------------------------------------
HP Laboratories |There is something fascinating
1501 Page Mill Road, 1U, MS 1141 |about science. One gets such
Palo Alto, CA 94304 |wholesale returns of conjecture out
|of such a trifling investment of
kirsh...@hpl.hp.com |fact.
(650)857-7572 | Mark Twain
Jerry Friedman
> "Peter Duncanson (BrE)" <m...@peterduncanson.net> writes:
>
>
>
> > R H Draney <dadoc...@spamcop.net> wrote:
>
> >>Bob G filted:
>
> >>>Add another one to my list that includes "pushing back", "moving
> >>>forward", "at the end of the day", "the tools we need", "point in
> >>>time", "imagine if you will", etcetera, etcetera.
>
> >>Is a "teachable moment" the reciprocal view of what has long been
> >>called a "learning opportunity"?...r
I don't think so. See below.
> > The phrase "teachable moment" must be an idiom because it defies
> > rational analysis.
>
> > "teachable" qualifies "moment". If a "moment" is teachable then it,
> > the moment, must be capable of learning. Learning is outside the
> > capabilities of moments as we know them.
>
> Do you feel the same way about, say, a "teachable song"?
>
> You teach somebody something or you teach something to somebody. I
> don't find the "somethings" any less teachable than the "somebodies".
You don't teach somebody the moment either. It's a moment in which
something is teachable to somebody. And it strikes me a normal kind
of displaced adjective, like "sleepless night", so I guess you can
call it an idiom.
The phrase is common in American educational circles (in my limited
experience). TeacherE "teachable moment" = StudentE "we got the
chemistry teacher to tell war stories for half the period."
--
Jerry Friedman occasionally takes advantage of teachable moments.
Evan Kirshenbaum
> On Jul 31, 11:26�am, Evan Kirshenbaum <kirshenb...@hpl.hp.com> wrote:
>> "Peter Duncanson (BrE)" <m...@peterduncanson.net> writes:
>>
>>
>>
>> > R H Draney <dadoc...@spamcop.net> wrote:
>>
>> >>Bob G filted:
>>
>> >>>Add another one to my list that includes "pushing back", "moving
>> >>>forward", "at the end of the day", "the tools we need", "point
>> >>>in time", "imagine if you will", etcetera, etcetera.
>>
>> >>Is a "teachable moment" the reciprocal view of what has long been
>> >>called a "learning opportunity"?...r
>
> I don't think so. See below.
>
>> > The phrase "teachable moment" must be an idiom because it defies
>> > rational analysis.
>>
>> > "teachable" qualifies "moment". If a "moment" is teachable then
>> > it, the moment, must be capable of learning. Learning is outside
>> > the capabilities of moments as we know them.
>>
>> Do you feel the same way about, say, a "teachable song"?
>>
>> You teach somebody something or you teach something to somebody. �I
>> don't find the "somethings" any less teachable than the
>> "somebodies".
>
> You don't teach somebody the moment either. It's a moment in which
> something is teachable to somebody.
No, I can see that reading, but I think that in the minds of the
people who use the phrase it really is the moment that can be taught.
Teaching all of the current state of race relations is hard, but this
moment is (in their minds) a very small, easily-graspable incident
that elucidates many important points on both sides. You can get
across the salient points and, by focusing on it, you can bring about
a better understanding of the wider picture.
That's the way I've always taken the phrase. When a teachable moment
comes up, you focus on that moment and what it tells you.
> And it strikes me a normal kind of displaced adjective, like
> "sleepless night", so I guess you can call it an idiom.
>
> The phrase is common in American educational circles (in my limited
> experience). TeacherE "teachable moment" = StudentE "we got the
> chemistry teacher to tell war stories for half the period."
Just because you teach doesn't mean they'll learn. But I don't see
that as a "teachable moment" unless what made it such was the
students' astonishment over the chemistry teacher's reaction to what
someone had thought was an innocent joke.
--
Evan Kirshenbaum +------------------------------------
HP Laboratories |A handgun is like a Lawyer. You
1501 Page Mill Road, 1U, MS 1141 |don't want it lying around where
Palo Alto, CA 94304 |the children might be exposed to
|it, but when you need one, you need
kirsh...@hpl.hp.com |it RIGHT NOW, and nothing else will
(650)857-7572 |do.
| Bill McNutt
http://www.kirshenbaum.net/
Peter Duncanson (BrE)
This piece discusses you-know-what and includes an explanation of
"teachable moment":
http://www.examiner.com/x-11041-Des-Moines-Education-Examiner~y2009m7d31-A-teachable-moment-indeed-More-public-speaking-instruction
or http://tinyurl.com/l2wmdr
What's more interesting is what he used to describe the whole
ordeal: a "teachable moment." This is a term educators have used for
years to describe those instances when things might go terribly
wrong but can instill a lesson when used and addressed properly.
Sometimes the "teachable moment" comes from the actions of students;
more often they come from educators whose mistakes turn into
authentic learning experiences.
Words matter - especially when they come from someone others are
supposed to look up to and respect. Like heads of state, we
educators have the responsibility to monitor not only the language
our students use but also the language we use on a regular basis.
When we do make blunders, show students how to revise your thinking
or language and what effect your choice of words have on the
situation.
Jerry Friedman
I guess "moment" is a figure of speech for "incident"?
The original meaning seems to have been a moment in which teaching is
possible. The first hit with any kind of view at GB is
"[...] this institution--the communion--is to take advantage of this
opportune time, this most teachable moment, to impress upon the heart
the deep significance of the Lord's death."
http://books.google.com/books?id=-L1215r80i0C&pg=PA84
An educationist named Robert J. Havighurst seems to have popularized
the phrase in the '50s. I found this sentence quoted several times:
"When the body is ripe, and society requires, and the self is ready to
achieve a
certain task, the teachable moment has come."
/Human Development and Education/, 1953. Quoted at
http://books.google.com/books?id=QF1F58BF2qUC&pg=PA24
Here the emphasis is on the child's developmental stage.
The way I've encountered it (maybe only a couple times) is like this:
http://books.google.com/books?id=fIdJK4KNWJYC&pg=RA1-PA15
(I'm not going to quote something that long, but the idea is to take
advantage of a moment when students get interested in something
unplanned.)
Here's one from /Integrating Sex and Marital Therapy/ (which, I
believe, means "integrating marital and sex therapy"), by Gerald R.
Weeks and Larry Hof (1987):
"[...] there are literally hundreds of opportunities daily for
conversation with children about sexuality. Examples of teachable
moments include: television shows or advertising, the pregnancy of a
neighbor, new kittens, newspaper or magazine articles, jokes, and
cartoons."
http://books.google.com/books?id=ynnpAEFs8mEC&pg=PA94
I can think of another example, too. "Teachable moment" is a much
more pleasant phrase than "primal scene".
> > And it strikes me a normal kind of displaced adjective, like
> > "sleepless night", so I guess you can call it an idiom.
>
> > The phrase is common in American educational circles (in my limited
> > experience). TeacherE "teachable moment" = StudentE "we got the
> > chemistry teacher to tell war stories for half the period."
>
> Just because you teach doesn't mean they'll learn.
Story of my career.
> But I don't see
> that as a "teachable moment" unless what made it such was the
> students' astonishment over the chemistry teacher's reaction to what
> someone had thought was an innocent joke.
I was thinking of something more like a student accidentally burning
some sulfur and mentioning that it smells like fireworks. "That's
right--there's sulfur in gunpowder. One time when I was in Nam..."
--
Jerry Friedman never talks about etymology or grammar in physics
class. For long.
Joe Fineman
> "Peter Duncanson (BrE)" <ma...@peterduncanson.net> writes:
>
>> R H Draney <dado...@spamcop.net> wrote:
>>>Is a "teachable moment" the reciprocal view of what has long been
>>>called a "learning opportunity"?...r
>>
>> The phrase "teachable moment" must be an idiom because it defies
>> rational analysis.
>>
>> "teachable" qualifies "moment". If a "moment" is teachable then it,
>> the moment, must be capable of learning. Learning is outside the
>> capabilities of moments as we know them.
>
> Do you feel the same way about, say, a "teachable song"?
>
> You teach somebody something or you teach something to somebody. I
> don't find the "somethings" any less teachable than the
> "somebodies".
In any case, "-able" as a productive suffix in English has legitimate
uses well beyond the systematic one of forming adjectives from
transitive verbs with the meaning "that can be ---ed". See MEU
s.v. -able, -ible, etc. 4 for a thoro discussion with plenty of
examples. If a laughable assertion can be one at which one may laugh,
and a livable house can be one in which one may live, then a teachable
moment can be one at which one may teach.
--
--- Joe Fineman jo...@verizon.net
||: How we got here is no indication of what to do next. :||
Donna Richoux
[Snip a lot of others' stuff I don't recognize at all about "teachable
moment"]
> An educationist named Robert J. Havighurst seems to have popularized
> the phrase in the '50s. I found this sentence quoted several times:
>
> "When the body is ripe, and society requires, and the self is ready to
> achieve a
> certain task, the teachable moment has come."
The next sentence in that speech: "Efforts at teaching which would have
been largely wasted if they had come earlier, give gratifying results
when they come, at the teachable moment, when the task should be
learned." --- 1953, Robert J. Havighurst, Professor of Education,
University of Chicago.
Wikipedia has a different description by Havighurst:
---
Teachable moment is a phrase coined by Robert Havighurst in his
1952 book, Human Development and Education. In the context of
educational theory, Havighurst explained,
"A developmental task is a task which is learned at a specific point
and which makes achievement of succeeding tasks possible. When the
timing is right, the ability to learn a particular task will be
possible. This is referred to as a 'teachable moment.' It is important
to keep in mind that unless the time is right, learning will not occur.
Hence, it is important to repeat important points whenever possible so
that when a student's teachable moment occurs, s/he can benefit from the
knowledge."[1]
---
>
> /Human Development and Education/, 1953. Quoted at
>
> http://books.google.com/books?id=QF1F58BF2qUC&pg=PA24
>
> Here the emphasis is on the child's developmental stage.
>
> The way I've encountered it (maybe only a couple times) is like this:
>
> http://books.google.com/books?id=fIdJK4KNWJYC&pg=RA1-PA15
>
> (I'm not going to quote something that long, but the idea is to take
> advantage of a moment when students get interested in something
> unplanned.)
>
> Here's one from /Integrating Sex and Marital Therapy/ (which, I
> believe, means "integrating marital and sex therapy"), by Gerald R.
> Weeks and Larry Hof (1987):
>
> "[...] there are literally hundreds of opportunities daily for
> conversation with children about sexuality. Examples of teachable
> moments include: television shows or advertising, the pregnancy of a
> neighbor, new kittens, newspaper or magazine articles, jokes, and
> cartoons."
>
> http://books.google.com/books?id=ynnpAEFs8mEC&pg=PA94
What Jerry gives here is the concept I am familiar with. When children
(in particular) are interested in something, pay attention to that and
answer the questions that arise. That is the teachable moment, a moment
when what you say will have a true impact, as compared to the usual
ineffectual, droning lectures that pass for teaching or parenting.
--
Best -- Donna Richoux
Frank ess
I used the concept with some of my clients, and phrased it as "being
ripe": the fruit will not fall off the tree and into your hand until
it is ripe. Important to be present in the mental landscape when it
happens.
--
Frank ess