Everything is difficult before it is easy.

Every time I visit the small, rural K-6 school district on the Maine border, I have to pass through the  gymnasium on my way to the Annex-where kindergarten through grade three lives. And as I head toward the doorway, on my way out of the building, just about eye level on the cinderblock gym wall is a poster that says:

“Everything is difficult before it is easy.”

This one simple sentence says it all. My daughter’s 4th grade elementary school teacher used to tell the kids, “If you knew how to do this,I would         be home baking chocolate chip cookies!”Somehow we have to encourage learners-grown-ups and children alike-that learning is hard work. I               especially believe this when I try to encourage faculty to try looking at ways to incorporate technology into their classroom lessons. It is not             easy for them, nor is it easy for me to teach them. But it does get easier. We need to encourage teachers and students, as well as parents                         and community members to learn about social networking, mobile devices, mashups, and wikis. And remember, just because it is difficult,                  doesn’t mean you will never learn it and understand it. I need to remember the lesson, too, especially when things don’t go well, or easily.                    Everything is difficult before it is easy.