Rubber > Metal

According to Wikipedia, John Dunlop was the first to use rubber on wheels in the 1880s. He decided to use rubber on his son's bicycle tires because he was getting severe headaches from the rough ride that his metal wheels were giving him over bumpy roads. Genius.

Dunlop, and several inventors after him, recognized that flexibility makes all the difference. I have been discovering that the same is true in teaching. The other day, we were supposed to show a video as part of the introduction to the activity. I had forgotten to check the video to make sure it was still accessible (it had last been used the previous year) for all the teachers until Megan asked me about it roughly 15 minutes before class. We had to scramble to find it in the computer among the scores of files, upload it to Google Drive so every teacher could use it at the same time, and make sure the sound for the video would connect through the hookups in the classroom. Hooking up the audio sounded complicated, so I just aborted that idea and narrated the video myself as it showed silently. Other teachers had portable speakers to use with the computer, making it much simpler. A few knew how to hook up the audio in the classroom quickly and it worked for them.

One teacher, however, was determined to use the audio in the classroom, but had never hooked it up before. She struggled each period to get the audio going, and I don't think she ever did get it to work. She became very frustrated and it clearly ruined her entire day, adding much stress that didn't need to be there.

I cite this as just one example of the many times I have seen and experienced the benefits of flexibility. The road is full of potholes - media doesn't work right, students come in late, the copier breaks down, a fire drill absorbs 10 minutes of a period you needed, or students need more time to understand something you thought would be quick and easy. I've noticed a pattern: the teachers that excel have an ability to roll with the punches and improvise on the fly to make the best of every situation.