The Skillful Teacher

Admit Resistance Is Normal
Sometimes confronting the likelihood of resistance publicly works
to defuse it. When a teacher acknowledges that resistance probably
exists, and when she describes how she has addressed it in the past,
it helps normalize the phenomenon. It is sometimes helpful for
teachers to describe their own resistance to learning—to talk about
its causes (such as the fear of looking foolish in public) and how it
was kept under control. We can also talk about former learners and
what typically caused their resistance. Doing these things may strike
a chord within some students to the point where they will talk
openly about why they are unwilling to learn something new.
Acknowledging that resistance exists and admitting to its nor-
mality might seem like an embarrassing thing for teachers to do. In
the long run, however, it will probably make everyone feel much
more relaxed if the reality of the situation is made public. Far bet-
ter to do this than to practice a massive suspension of belief where
you pretend that everything is fine when in fact you feel you’re fac-
ing serious and sustained resistance.
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