From the author
I want to say a big "Thank you" to Bonnie Tsai as she was one of my best teachers ever.
Drake, Drakey and the Little Ducklings
Lucyna Krzanowska, Poland
Lucyna is a teacher trainer at a Teacher Training College, Bielsko-Biała, Poland where she teaches pronunciation and practical English courses. She is interested in the nature of learning and the theatre. E-mail: lukrzan@gmail.com
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Background
The metaphor
A few years ago I came to Pilgrims to attend an NLP course run by Bonnie Tsai. The following metaphor story came about as our homework assignment where each participant was supposed to bring their own “product” that was related to what we did in class.
A long time ago, in a little village behind some huge mountain there lived a family of ducks – mother duck with father drake and six tiny ducklings. Like all young creatures, the ducklings were beautiful and lively. They spent whole days playing and skipping with great joy.
One day their mother said to them:
It’s time for you to learn about the world. Neither I nor father can help you. You need somebody wiser than us.
The parents must have got in touch with the local authorities because
a few days later the Mayor sent them Mr. DRAKE.
Mr. DRAKE arrived early in the morning. He was much, much bigger than anybody they had ever seen! He was also very strong and extremely colourful.
The lessons started on the following day, at 8 a.m. sharp and they met in the corner of their garden. Mr. DRAKE surely inspired respect with the way he spoke, walked, and acted. But…the little ducklings were not happy because he DID NOT LET them play like they used to. Besides, he PUNISHED them for ASKING QUESTIONS.
“I shall allow no arguments in this class” – he used to say. “And, my young ladies, you MUST STOP looking around when I am teaching. You should look at me and follow my instructions”
The little ducks got sad. They even cried sometimes – but only when he did not look because they did not want to be PUNISHED! Months went by and the little students learnt to be diligent and industrious. They obeyed their TEACHER in every way, for they believed that this is what getting wiser was about.
One day, quite unexpectedly, Mr. DRAKE got promoted and was moved to another place.
The little students were VERY HAPPY.
“Hurrah! – they shouted.
“We won’t have to memorize thousands of names of insects, plants and seeds any more!
-What a relief!- the others added.”
Towards the end of the day, however, when everything went quiet and they could think deeply, think about their new situation and imagine their future – they felt uncomfortable and even fearful. They realized they could NOT do things WITHOUT HIM. They never really liked him but AT LEAST HE KNEW EVERYTHING!
A few days later a new drake arrived. At first the ducks did not know for sure if it was a drake, though, because he looked a bit strange. He certainly could not compete with Mr. DRAKE’s looks! He was slightly bigger than the ducks, but certainly he wasn’t stronger! He did not wear fashionable clothes, like Mr. DRAKE did. And he did not use glasses. In fact, there was only one nice thing about him and all the ducks agreed here: he had a gentle voice.
But the first lessons with Drakey (that was his name) made the little students very fearful….because their new teacher didn’t seem to know…much! Because, they thought, if he knew the subjects he was teaching, he wouldn’t ask THEM questions, would he?
“Why do you keep asking us about all these things? YOU should know the answers!” – they shouted, dismayed.
Days passed by and he was still the same. The little ducks got unhappy. “If he doesn’t know the way things are, they thought, we will never get wiser and our parents will be very worried.”
They grew more and more angry and finally they went on strike. None of them turned up for the lesson that day. Nor the day after. Nor the next…
In the evening of the third day Drakey went to them and said:
“I’d like you to give me a chance. I’d like you to give me 6 months to prove that I can be useful to you. OR I SHALL LEAVE.”
The ducks agreed.
Early in the morning, after breakfast, they all gathered in the yard.
“Can you see those trees over there? “ – Drakey asked, pointing in the direction of the forest. “Well, go there now and, when you reach the forest- leave the group and stay there for two hours. During that time I’d like you to look around, listen to the sounds you hear, touch whatever you can reach, maybe even lick things… Then come back to me and we’ll have a sharing session.
So off they went.
They did it every day, for a month. At first it was difficult because they were confused. They had forgotten how to look, listen, or smell things on their own. So… at their first sessions one could sometimes hear them say things like: ”Oh, I heard a rough tree!...or….”I saw different voices…”
But, as time went by, with the gentle help from Drakey, they began to understand more and more about that magic place. And one day, after three or four months of hard work, a BIG SMILE appeared on their LITTLE FACES, revealing the birth of ENTHUSIASM.
Please check the NLP for Teachers course at Pilgrims website.
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