Miss Agnes always said something was hard. … it would be hard at first like she said but we wouldn’t feel bad because she told us it would be. … and we’d feel really proud because we’d learned another hard thing.
Miss Agnes and the Ginger Tom by Kirkpatrick Hill
Saying that hard tasks are easy doesn’t motivate me. I know better. I distrust and disrespect the speaker. (Physical therapy proved that.)
I wish I had known to acknowledge the work I required of my children was hard in their eyes. Why did I tell them tasks or assignments were easy? Did I not want to tell my sons to do hard things? Did I think “easy” motivated more than “hard”? Most likely, the work seemed easy to me.
Research aligns with Miss Agnes’s philosophy. When children are told a task is hard and they complete it, they are more likely to stick with future tasks.
My homeschooling days are over, and my teaching opportunities are reduced. However, I’m still around. I need to acknowledge that seemingly simple tasks are hard for me as I age and celebrate their accomplishment.
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