problem 1

So let us rewind to the first day of work:

The morning was unremarkable. I exchanged details with my new coworkers and listened inattentavily during our weekly and seemingly interminable meeting.

The afternoon was frightening. I entered the taller, took my place among the childlike chaos, and played my part.

It is strange to realize now that I do not recall many of the details of that first encounter. I do not recall who yelled "Enseñame!" I do not recall what subject we worked on. I do not recall the outcome of our intellectual exchange. Perhaps we chatted over the multiplication of fractions or perhaps their additions. Was it was Marcelina or Chayo?

What I do recall is a feeling. As our chaos dispersed, I wondered if the knowledge I worked hard to transfer/exchange would serve its purpose the next day. I realized that once again I could not know.

Once again because I had been down this path before. As an after-school instructor, I had many times before worked hard to transfer a nice piece of knowledge. Often it regarded the programming of plastic Danish robots, or the writing of stories using a digital language. Always, as my stint came to an end, I would fail to see how the knowledge behaved in the hands of my student. Moreover, on a day to day basis, I failed to see progress as clearly as I would prefer.

Why did I fail to see this progress? Why is progress important?

More to come.