Moments Matter

Larry Pasti, Senior Consultant

“Teachable moments” matter. Kernels grow. Recently, a compelling concrete example arrived in my home. It gave me pause to reflect on the depth of science of learning and development that has mushroomed in the last few years. It’s real! First, let me share the story. My wife was a middle and high school math teacher for 30+ years. Recently, she received the following letter:

I am hoping that l’ve found the “right” Mrs. Pasti. This letter is intended for a math teacher from [our school]. lf I have not found the right person, please disregard this note. lf you are the right person, please accept this long overdue letter of thanks.

I was a student in your 7th grade Math class around 1979…I always enjoyed your class but there was a day in class that l’m sure you have no recollection of. l, however, have spoken of it and you often. I realize that you should hear the story that so many people in my life have heard.

There are lots of details in my life that I don’t recall, but I feel like I vividly remember this particular class. You assigned us homework and called out one problem. You told us to think, really think before just writing down an answer. I went home that afternoon and did my homework with a neighbor friend. We talked about the problem briefly and neither of us could figure out the answer, so we just put an answer down in order to complete the assignment. The next day in class, you called on me to answer the question. Before I could give my answer, you again called on me to think. The question was, “what does it mean to increase by 100%?”. I paused and thought. I answered, “it doubles”. Well, you’d have thought l’d hung the moon! You went crazy (at least that’s how I remember it). You told me I was smart; you were proud of me and I was proud of myself. ln that moment something changed.

What you did not know is that the prior year l’d struggled with math. For some reason, I just didn’t get it, l’d always been a good math student but not that year. l’d even struggled enough that my teacher called me outside of class one day to ask if everything was ok. I remember feeling disappointed as I told myself l just wasn’t good at math anymore.

After graduating from school, I attended SUNY and majored in Mathematics and Secondary Education; I also minored in Computer Science. When I did my student teaching, some of the kids asked why math mattered. I felt an obligation to find work in the business field so that I could better answer that question. I fell in love with technology and never found my way into the classroom.

I have told the story many, many times and often with a tear in my eye. It has been 40 years since that day but remains a powerful moment in my life. Mrs. Pasti, please accept my heartfelt thank-you for impacting my life in such a positive way. On one ordinary day, with a regular homework question, you looked to me to answer. I know, without a doubt, that the trajectory of my life changed on that day. I went from thinking that I wasn’t a good math student to thinking l was smart and a great math student. For that, l am eternally grateful.

Clearly, that day and you played a significant role in my higher education!

Moments matter.

We don’t always know in advance which moments. The science of learning and development is expanding rapidly, as are the frameworks, evidence-based programs and methods numerous organizations are using to disseminate this knowledge. We just do not yet know which practice in which setting for which youth matters then. Amidst this, it may be useful for all of us to reflect on what “moments mattered” in our lives.

With our current knowledge, we have researched-based conditions that should guide those interactions such as the Essential Guiding Principles for Equitable Whole Child Design. These are very useful for national conversations and for helping partners at all levels see what they do in operationalizing these conditions. It is critical for adults to be intentional. It is also important to not to stress parsing out all of these important conditions separately. Given the example above, look at that snippet as a rich learning environment or one that is safe and where students feel they belong. Looking more at the cumulative effects of these guiding principles over multiple settings allows for elevating and rewarding more adults across settings to doing “what works.” It also reinforces the impact and value of intentional practices even within evidence-based programs.

Youth growing up come into contact with numerous adults over the years, both in structured settings such as schools or afterschool programs as well as in unstructured settings such as playgrounds, employment, social services, etc. In the media, we see examples of bus drivers, delivery people, fast food workers, police, and other adults who demonstrate developmental practices every day in the course of their own lives/jobs. How do we validate and lift up those adult/youth interactions for celebrations? How do we reinforce that all adults in all setting have a role to play in being intentionally supportive of young people’s development and learning?

To reach all adults, the messaging and dissemination process then become important. Language matters. The words need to be heard by the various intended audiences. My wife shared numerous stories from her school days, many replete with examples of what we now would call “good practices for SEL or development.” As I was learning more about positive youth development years ago, I went to share those ideas with her. She neither needed, nor wanted, to hear these new frameworks, for she steadfastly insisted she was doing “good teaching,” and she was. I suspect I would have had more productive discussion validating her practice through having common language to describe “good”. Such common language helps adults across settings ensure that young people are consistently experiencing safe, relationship-filled environments. As we do in our work with youth, finding and reinforcing the “sparks” in adults is important to finding the common purpose in supporting development.

Making more moments happen.

Building the awareness and capacity of all adults to intentionally support young people’s learning and development continues to be important. Last week, our colleagues at Learning Policy Institute and Turnaround for Children released Design Principles for Schools: Putting the Science of Learning and Development Into Action. This playbook of design principles can help shape schools and other learning environments to focus on what the science of learning and development tells us students need to grow and thrive. Through redesigning policies, systems, structures, practices, and resources we can ensure students experience optimized learning environments with many more moments like the moments my wife shared with her students.