How VerbTenses Helped Me to Understand People Better

I had a former student give me a picture today.  She’d written on it, “You were one of my best teachers.”  It is hard to put into words how that felt.  It was actually the first time this has happened.  I am a third year teacher, and she was one of the hardest working students in my very first class.  That is all I really ever want out of my students.  Work hard in my classroom, and reap the rewards later.   I couldn’t have been more appreciative.  I told her getting an appreciation like this after a student has left the class means so much more to me than getting one while they are still in my class. 

This is what I want from my students.  This is what I have always desired as a teacher.  I hope they keep coming back and saying, “Hey, you were tough, but I am a better person because you were my teacher.” 

That said, this year has been a bit tougher.  In many ways, my current class is really quite unique.  It is a big class – twenty-seven students.  They are all ELLs (English Language Learners), but they are on the high end – on the verge of mainstreaming for fourth grade.  That is my goal – to mainstream every one of them.  That means that they have learned the English language well enough to move into a standard class – one in which Science and Social Studies are also taught – not just English and Math.  It has been a slow, trial-by-error process to get classroom management where I need it to be.  It hasn’t taken seven weeks with my previous three classes!

But I have a feeling that we are close – really close to getting the routine down.  Part of it is that I have also had to do some learning this year.  I am a first year ELD (English Language Development) teacher.  Getting a handle on the best way to teach ELLs has been a slower process than I expected.  But I have certainly learned a lot – I have learned a lot about how students learn the language. 

Let me give you a quick example:  I asked a student where his backpack was so that he could put his homework in it.  He said, “I didn’t brought it.”  Of course, the teacher in me wanted him to hear it correctly, so I asked him to say, “I didn’t bring it.”  This a very common error in ELLs. 

Okay, I have a confession to make first.  Before this year, I did not understand verb tenses – I just knew the correct way to say things.  I didn’t know why I knew the correct way, I just did.  And I am an English major!  At the beginning of this year, I learned why it is important for ELLs to understand tenses.  Actually, the truth is that. because I am in the midst of studying verb tenses, I have a much better understanding of why my students do not use their verb tenses correctly.  Since I have this understanding, it is easier for me to explain it to them. 

I know some of you are thinking, what does this have to do with spirituality?  I’ll be honest again – I don’t know – but there must be some reason I am explaining this, so the answer will come to me later!

So, think about that sentence, “I didn’t brought it.” 

Those of us who grew up with English as a first language probably know that it is correct to say “bring” instead of “brought” in that sentence.  But why?  After all, “brought” is the past tense and “bring” is the present tense, right?  Yes, but we have all heard the term you can’t have a double negative (“I don’t have nothing”).  Well, it is also true that you can’t have a double past tense.  “Did” is the past tense of the verb “to do.”  When you use “did” in your sentence, then you need to use the next verb in the simple form.  That give us the sentence, “I didn’t bring it.”  So now, if I teach my students correctly, they can actually understand when they say a sentence, “Ah-ha!  This isn’t right, because I can’t have a double past.”  Before this year, if I student had asked me, “Why?”  I would have had to say, “That’s just the way it is.  Trust me!”

Now, I can explain to my students that if you use the auxiliary verb “did” in a sentence, then the next verb should be in the present tense – in other words, if the standard form of the verb is “to bring” then just take out the word “to” and they will have the correct word to use in the sentence.

So, my point?  Well, this is certainly helpful to aspiring ELD teachers as well as ELLs, isn’t it? 

Well, I had, in the past,  passed judgment upon my students because they didn’t speak the language correctly.  It seemed that no matter how hard I tried, they just weren’t getting it.  I would correct them time and  time again, yet they would keep making the same mistake.  But there were two problems, A. I didn’t know why they were making the mistake, and B. because I was unable to identify a pattern for them they were unable to correct themselves after the initial correction. 

Because I took the time to figure out why they were making the mistake – in other words, I put myself in their shoes, then I was able to clearly understand why  they were making the mistake.  At that point, the mistake becomes easier to fix.  If students can see a pattern, and understand the pattern, they will make the correction.  ESPECIALLY if you believe they will.  When you believe in them, you will stick with them until they get it right. 

This isn’t just true with elementary school students in a third grade classroom such as I have, but it is true with everyone.  It is important to be able to put yourself in the shoes of all other people.  Of course, this is easier to do when you know  you are right – such as in a quantifiable area like verb tenses.  It is a little harder to do when you think you are right, or think you might be right.  That is why it is so important to try to put yourself in their position.   It also helps to fully understand your position. 

Have you ever looked in your rear view mirror and had a car speeding up toward you in the fast lane?  Of course you have!  Have you ever imagined that you were shape-shifting and morphing yourself so that you ended up in the driver seat of that car?  Try it sometime.  Try it with any driver, for that matter.  It is weird how you can start to see things from their perspective if you try to see things as they see them.  For that speeding driver that is passing me, my heart rate will quicken.  As I recall, it quickened because I found the feeling of going so fast to be quite exhilarating.  However, I have also done it and felt more stressed out.  I’d love some of you to try that experiment and tell me what happened to some of you.

In this example, I knew I was right, but I didn’t know why.  If you ever find yourself saying in an argument, “Because I said so!”  Then you know you have more research to do.  You do yourself, and those you are trying to teach, no favors unless your side of the argument is more justifiable than, “Just trust me!  I know what I am talking about!”  No one in their right mind will stand for that.

Of course, that is just a little experiment in getting yourself into the other person’s mindset.  Most people will only show a willingness to change if you give them logical reasons for doing so.  I have my logical reason for saying negative simple verb tenses correctly, now.  It kind of makes me realize that I have a lot of work to do if I am going to convince people of some of the other things I want to say in this blog!

Namaste