Meeting the needs of ALL students
What is teaching and learning without authentic relationships? How can one teach or learn without first developing a relationship? I’m not sure they can. Below I am sharing with you a video that I stumbled upon this summer, prior to my internship. I wrote a blog post on it, which I encourage you to read. Rita Pierson’s talk moved me a lot this summer, but it moves me just as much watching it again now.
Rita Pierson discusses every child’s need for a champion – as teachers we can be, we are, that champion. How do we be a champion for our students? We build relationships, that’s how. Relationships built on integrity and authenticity are unbelievably vital to student learning and a positive learning community in the classroom.
From my internship at FCHS/AHSFA I have seen in action the importance of developing relationships with students. Without the relationships I have developed, I would not have been able to do successfully integrate the various activities I have into my lessons. To have 35 students up and out of their seats, playing tug of war, engaging in VSEPR Yoga, completing station activities in the lab, etc. there must be trust; you can’t have trust without first having a relationship.