“Every child deserves a champion—an adult who will never give up on them, who understands the power of connection and insists that they become the best that they can possibly be.”
-Rita Pierson
This quote means that for students to be successful in learning, they need to know that I believe in them; that they are trusted, cared for, important, heard, and encouraged. From the place of a connection, a relationship starts building, and students will be ready to begin learning, asking questions, embracing mistakes, and dreaming. Children benefit from healthy adult-child relationships, and for some students in my class, I may be the only adult they have that healthy relationship with.
As a teacher, I will always take time to get to know my students, whether I am a Teacher Teaching on Call in a classroom for a day or teaching my class for the year. I will begin by hearing each student’s name and transition into learning whom my students are by asking them questions as I am teaching them and providing support to them.
I hope that each student I teach leaves my classroom knowing that I believe in them, that I will never give up on them, and that I am standing alongside them as they learn and grow with my eyes and ears watching and listening for whom they are becoming. I hope that in the moments when my students do not remember what they learned, they recognize that they were encouraged, empowered, and noticed.