I think the phrase “I don’t get it” should be banned from all classrooms.
We’ve all been there. Usually spoken in a whiny, expectant voice, those four words are the bane of every teacher, as they provide absolutely no insight into what the student is struggling with. I personally have two favorite responses to “I don’t get it!”:
1. “What’s your question?” Forcing the child to articulate a specific question is helpful to both the child (who has to pinpoint where the loss of comprehension is occurring) and also to the teacher (who can now intervene more effectively).
2. “Great! Fight with it for awhile!” This is the type of response I give to a child who has only thought for a couple of seconds before asking for help, or to a student who I am absolutely certain is smart enough to figure things out on his/her own. The first time I do this, the student is usually appalled that I could possibly think that his being stuck is a good thing, but it develops into part of our classroom culture: getting stuck is a normal part of learning something new, and it should be embraced!
Using these approaches, I find that my students develop more perseverance when faced with something difficult, and they also learn to express what is confusing them much more effectively.
We teachers are a compassionate lot, eager to help. But let’s not rush in to fix things when our students complain that they just “don’t get it.”
Posted by mpullen 
