March 14, 2011
Mayberry Monday – “Opie Flunks Arithmetic”
By Holly McLeod, PHR
There are certain types of news that parents simply don’t want to hear from their child’s teacher — “Johnny doesn’t apply himself,” or “Sally was being mean to another little girl,” or “David got into a fight today,” or “Janie got upset today when she got pushed down and scraped her knee.” The list could go on and on, but let’s face it; parents want the best for their children.
In that regard Sheriff Andy Taylor is no different than you and me. Andy was in the courthouse one day when Helen Crump came for a short visit. Helen was Andy’s girlfriend, but was also his son Opie’s teacher. The purpose of the visit this day was to deliver the unwelcome news that Opie had made a “D” in arithmetic. Although the news was not pleasant Andy took the news fairly well and told Helen he would work with Opie on his math.
As Helen was leaving Opie walked in and Andy quickly steered the conversation to arithmetic. He asked Opie if there is something about arithmetic he doesn’t understand. Opie said, “We’re going into long division now. I hate it.” Opie went on to explain that he has to erase a lot and sometimes it tears the paper and he has to do his work all over again, and sometimes the bell rings before he’s finished with his work. He reasoned that “If they had better paper I think I could get a good mark.” Oh, the rationale of a young mind.
That night, as promised, Andy went to Opie’s room to help him with long division. After deciding that they would work on trying to divide 14 into 169, here is what transpired:
Andy: Put your 14 down, draw a line up and over and put your 169 down there.
Opie: Why do you do that, Paw?
Andy: ‘Cause that’s the way you do it.
Opie: When we give an answer we have to tell why we do something.
Andy: The reason you put the 14 down on the left like that is, is, uh, uh, is because, uh… that’s the rule.
Opie: She’ll ask us why you put it on the left instead of the right.
Andy: She will? Well, uh… we probably better not tackle too much the first night. Now how many times does 14 go into 16?
Opie: Once.
Andy: Put your one on top of there. Ok, now what you got left over?
Opie: Two leftover.
Andy: Bring down the nine. Now, how many times does 14 go into 29?
Opie: Twice.
Andy: Twice, that’s it. Now what you got left over?
Opie: One left over.
Andy: That’s a time! Now, put down a decimal point and two zeroes.
Opie: Why?
Andy: What do you mean, why?
Opie: Just why?
Andy: Well, uh… you put down your decimal point because you’re gonna put down two zeroes after that. (Opie just looks at him.) The reason you put down a decimal point and two zeroes is so’s that you can, uh, keep dividing, see, and shove that number on out there, and that way you can keep thinking about it and working on it and everything, until you finally get it done. You understand?
Opie: No.
Andy: It’ll come to you.
Now I don’t know about you, but had I received Andy’s “help” I would never have learned long division myself! Clear instructions are so important. They’re important in learning long division, as well as in learning a new job or task. How do you think this same scenario might play out in real life? Let’s take a look:
Boss: Make this widget.
Employee: How?
Boss: What do you mean, how? You just make it.
Employee: I don’t understand.
Boss: You take Part A and put it together with Part D, then you add Part B. After that you take Parts E and F and put them here and here.
Employee: What about Part C?
Boss: What about it?
Employee: Where does it go?
Boss: Uh, that comes later. Don’t worry about C right now.
Employee: Will I need it later?
Boss: Need what later?
Employee: Part C.
Boss: Yeah. It’ll all make sense eventually.
Be honest. Have you ever had an Opie-like moment when something was being explained to you and the other person might as well have been speaking a foreign language? Or how about the flip side – have you ever been trying to explain something that seems so simple to you, but the person you’re explaining to just can’t comprehend what you’re saying?
I imagine this happens far more often than we realize or are willing to admit. Like Opie and his long division, employees need instruction in a way that they can understand.
Try looking at things from Opie’s perspective when explaining a task to an employee. If you’re not being understood, perhaps you can find another way to explain. Just because it makes sense to you doesn’t mean it’s going to make sense to someone who has never performed a particular task before.
As for Opie, things turned out alright for him. He studied and studied and was able to make a B+ on his next arithmetic test. In the end perseverance paid off, but wouldn’t it have been a lot simpler if Andy had been able to explain long division in a way Opie could understand? I encourage you to be patient with employees when they “just don’t get it.” It might not be the employee’s inability to learn, but rather an ineffective approach to the way the lesson is taught.
Mayberry teaches us a lot, and there are multiple lessons to be learned from when Opie flunked arithmetic. Don’t be surprised if we visit this particular day in Mayberry again sometime. Stay tuned…
Holly McLeod is a Human Resources Manager for Landrum Professional Employer Services and Landrum Consulting. She is a certified professional in human resources (PHR) and has more than 15 years of human resources consulting in the corporate world, healthcare and manufacturing environments.
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