by J Sanders Nelson

Created on: June 27, 2009   Last Updated: July 27, 2009

Innocence Is Priceless

One Sunday morning, the pastor noticed little Alex standing in the foyer of the church staring up at a large plaque. It was covered with names and small American flags mounted on either side of it. The six-year old had been staring at the plaque for some time, so the pastor walked up, stood beside the little boy, and said quietly, "Good morning Alex."

"Good morning Pastor," he replied, still focused on the plaque. "Pastor, what is this?"

The pastor said, "Well son, it's a memorial to all the young men and women who died in the service."

Soberly, they just stood together, staring at the large plaque. Finally, little Alex's voice, barely audible and trembling with fear asked,

"Which service, the 8:30 or the 10:30?" (Teachers.Net Gazette, 2009)

Each time a student enters a learning experiences, they are filled with anticipation. Maybe not as much as little Alex in the vignette above but the unknown can be unnerving. It is then left to the facilitator or instructor to put the student at ease and bring forth an engaging learning experience. This is however, not always the case. For every adult learner, there have been moments of great learning and sharing and the environment is enthusiastic and stays with the learner long after the presentation has ended. On the other hand, there are moments of learning that seem trite or a waste of time, limited and unfulfilling.

Most educators are familiar with the name Harry Wong. We all know the mantra - What you do on the first day of school will determine your success or failure for the rest of the school year. (Wong & Wong, 2004). He is the guru of the First Day of School, a text which guides the first-year or tenth-year teacher through the first days of school. I had the privilege of seeing Harry Wong in person last year, finally, after spending most of my teaching career, watching his videos or visiting his website. The event was held in the main ballroom of a convention center - hundreds, possibly thousands of teachers anticipating his stage entrance. Even though we all knew what to expect, the excitement was traveling through the room like lightening.

When Mr. Wong finally made his energetic way to the stage, the place exploded in applause. At this point, I assumed that I would witness pretty much of what I had seen online and via DVD, however, we were in for a treat. Mr. Wong began his presentation similar to his many videos, explaining how a teacher could set the tone for the rest

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