Movie quote from: Nanny McPhee (2006) - Nanny McPhee (Emma Thompson)
All new learning happens when someone connects something new to something familiar. This places the responsibility for learning squarely on the shoulders of the learner. Good teachers/leaders can make it easier for learners to connect; they may even provide new experiences upon which new understandings and/or capabilities can grow. A surprising model for good teaching/leading is found in the title character of the movie Nanny McPhee.
Nanny McPhee is the 18th nanny for Mr. Brown's seven wild children. Although she possesses magical powers that no teacher or leader could have in their repertoire, it is her wise approach to enabling people that makes her most effective.
Nanny clearly defines what she wants the children to achieve. She gets to know them and provides support to the things they care about. Most importantly, she recognizes the value of supporting their goal-focused initiatives and letting them feel the positive and negative consequences of their decisions.
You cannot make people more effective by telling them to be so. You must show them how to maximize the learning opportunities available in every life circumstance. This is the way to developing capacity in a classroom or an enterprise. Although this learner-centered approach makes teaching/leading more difficult, the long-term benefits are clear: dedication to defined tasks, a more unified approach to problems, and greater levels of achievement.
The writers of Nanny McPhee had one other important message to teachers/leaders who clarify expectations and trust the people they work with to achieve. Each time the children accomplished one of her stated goals, Nanny McPhee became less 'ugly' to the children. By the end of the film, they see only a beautiful woman who they admire. Teachers/leaders who provide clear structure, expectations, and support will be regarded as unappealing early on. Eventually the success everyone experiences makes the beauty of a teacher/leader's approach more obvious.
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