Replacing Bewilderment with Surrender
As a teacher, I don’t typically like to admit if I don’t have the answer to a kid’s question. I’m supposed to be the expert, the authority they look to for answers to their questions. So if they ask me something and I don’t know the answer, I usually feel it physically: my body wants to reject the idea that I don’t have the answer. In reality, I know it’s totally unreasonable that I should have all the answers for my students. I also know that it’s helpful for them to see me grapple with things or not always have an answer- it gives them confidence to do the same in their own learning. And over the years, I have learned how to lean into this and get more comfortable with saying, “I don’t know! Let’s find out together!” when I don’t have answers. But it is by no means natural for me to do so. This is true in my personal life as well, and it reared its ugly head when my husband and I started walking the path of infertility. I was 32 when we started trying for a b...