The Importance of Liking the Students We Teach and Learn With or...
"Kids don't learn from people they don't like." - Rita Pierson
When I was thinking about what quote means the most to me there were so many which are profound and deep with great meaning from the one at the top of my blog to all the other ones surrounding learning and teaching. In the end, like the quote above, it's as simple as this, but also as difficult as this. I've also blogged on this before and needed to include it again here as this presentation from Rita connected so strongly with my beliefs.
We all have those 'hard to reach students', the ones who seem hell-bent on pushing and challenging you. I absolutely believe, hand on heart, that they need us the most, even if they're in the middle of telling us to 'get lost', or using similar words which indicate a rather wide vocabulary - not always an appropriate one!
Rita Pierson was an educator who loved 'her kids' no matter what their issues and challenges. If I can be half the teacher she was then I will have succeeded. I hope my students like me because I care about them as human beings, as individuals. Not as 'the class' or 'the students'. I want the best for them, no matter what. I can honestly say, again hand on heart, that in nearly 16 years of teaching I have loved all the kids I've taught, even the most challenging ones.
Sadly, Rita is no longer with us but what a legacy she has left behind in a simple quote.
#reflectiveteacher
Sadly, Rita is no longer with us but what a legacy she has left behind in a simple quote.
#reflectiveteacher
We picked the same one. I loved that Ted Talk the first time I saw it and I often go back and watch it again. She was amazing, and its so true. Those children are the ones that need us the most. They are the ones that need an advocate the most.
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely agree. I've shared this with my students too and we've talked about it a lot. They agreed with so much of what she said and shared it with their parents which was fantastic.
ReplyDeleteThats a very cool thing to do.
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